Painting Nightmares
by xStarxWolfx
Summary: Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man; let's go back where it all began. Lord Death/Shinigami, Kid abuse, angst, dark, comfort
1. Death Can Regret

Hallo, hallo! Star here! This is my first Soul Eater fanfic, and, of course, it _had_ to be about Shinigami-sama. I am a total fangirl. XD This is actually one of my newer ideas for him- I had others, but this one was just begging to be written. I mean, **really.**

Anywho, I always found Shinigami and Kid's relationship very underappreciated, and I absolutely adore it. And yes, this story will differ _slightly_from the canon, but I will do my best to keep it in line. *puts on army gear and salutes*

Hope you enjoy it! And also, I got the title from Dead By April's song "Painting Shadows". Please, not to be shooting me. Oh, and, uh, Shinigami-sama/Death and Death the Kid (it never says the child's name in the story, but, come on, if you're a _real_ SE fan, you would tell. Also, you probably could tell by the character filter.) belong to Studio Bones, **FUN**imation(because it's just so FUN), blah blah, etc. NOT TO ME. _Duh._

--

"Where's the kid!?"

"He's still in the castle! Death!"

"Yes!"

A black shadow dashed like lightning across the stone floor. The rush of wind cut through the air, candles flickered as the shade shot past, yet there were no footsteps heard, and no flames vanished. The phantom suddenly stopped short as he sensed someone. He turned to the right and tore the door open with black claws.

Inside, there was a very unusual baby nursery. There was a red and black "sky" that dotted the landscape, while apparently extremely strong bandages made the baby's crib. On the bloodied dirt floor, a little boy was playing with a wooden sailboat. His was dressed only in a loose red shirt and a diaper. When he heard the intruder, he flung his head around, startled. His black hair swayed wildly. The shadow could tell that his aura had changed into fear.

The shadow known as Death itself extended his dark claws, his signature gleaming. Eibon had always told him his handwriting was like chicken scratch- indecipherable and barely able to be classified as "writing". Death had only waved him off, gruffly warning that if he didn't get back to his post, there will be hell to pay. He could have sworn he heard Eibon _grinning_ as he strode away.

The child responded to the threat by filling his golden eyes with tears and crushing his unpainted sailboat close to his tiny chest. Death advanced forward, then froze.

Amidst the darkness, a lone orange soul floated where the child once was. The soul was shaking wildly, "tears" running down its cheeks. Then the child with three odd stripes in his jet black hair appeared once again, mirroring his soul's tears. Death tried to push his soul-detecting abilities (and his conscience) aside. This child was a demon. He needed to die, for the order of the world. As a shinigami, this was his duty. He could not, would not, let anything disturb the world's balance. A demon, child or otherwise, had to be destroyed.

_For the good of the world._

As Death raised his claws, the child clutched his toy tighter. He didn't dare start to bawl, afraid that the pointy shadow would hurt him. He did, however, start to sniffle and let out a choked sob every so often. He didn't know where his mommy and daddy were. He wished for them to come and save him from the big, scary man. As the man started to move his arm, the child shut his eyes tightly. Maybe it was just a bad dream. Maybe he would suddenly wake up in mommy's arms.

The child heard a crack, but it wasn't his bones. He opened one yellow eye to find the stranger's black claws buried in the earth, causing breaks in the ground. The child opened the other eye and looked up into the grim skull mask. The shade was silent, glaring at the dirt and dust. The baby stared at him for a while. Eventually, Death glanced at him. The other's breath caught in his throat at being spotted, but Death still didn't move. "I cannot kill you," he finally admitted. "You are an innocent child and I cannot take your life away."

The child did not know what that meant, but he sensed the stranger's rage fading and being replaced with distress and sorrow. He loosened his hold on the boat and crawled closer to the (now not so scary) man. Death watched as the child edged closer to him, his soul curious but hesitant. His claws vanished and spindly claw-like fingers replaced them. The child gazed at this in astonishment. He yelped suddenly as those same fingers picked him up by the back of his red shirt and brought him in front of the skull man's mask. His toy slipped from the baby's stubby fingers and fell to the floor with a clang. Then the boy proceeded to burst into tears, the pent up fear and uncertainty finally released. Death could only stare, shifting the bawling child into the palm of his other hand. With his now free hand, his picked up the toy and gave it to the child.

--

"You couldn't kill him?"

Death could only stare at the ground as the child beside him sat next to him, staring up at the owner of the voice. The person was what looked like a glowing white figure seated upon a high throne. The black shadow was quiet for a little bit, choosing his words carefully.

"No. I could not take a life so young and innocent."

"Innocent?" A voice spoke up. The child looked over to see what looked like a man dressed in bright yellow perched atop another throne. "This child is nothing but a demon! As a shinigami, your duty is to--"

"Protect the order of the world," Death finished. "I understand. But this child has done nothing to threaten the world. He should not be punished for the sins of his kin."

"I agree," said a woman in a green dress. Both her body and throne were wrapped in vines. "Death is right. This child is blameless."

"How could you side with him?" a woman enveloped in ice crystals snapped from across the huge white room. "Do you know who this child is!?"

"Enough!" the figure in white yelled. The room immediately went dead silent. Everyone, including the child, turned to the form.

"If you feel so strongly about this," the outline told Death, "then you will be the one responsible for him."

"What?" Death argued, glancing up at the blindingly white body for the first time to glare at him. "Why should I--"

"It's your choice, Death. Either you will care for the child…" the shape turned to the boy, "…or he will die."

The shadow fell silent.

--

Thin gnarled fingers picked up a book, adding it to the bundle of toys in his other hand. The child only watched from the other side of the nursery, confused. Why was this man taking his toys? Just what happened in the big room? Where were mommy and daddy? He couldn't understand. He just wanted things to go back to normal. He wanted this bad dream to end. Frustrated, he started to wail. The shadow turned around to glare at him.

"What are you crying about?" he snapped gruffly, also frustrated. Just because he had let this child live, he now had to take care of him. Since when did the God of Death adopt a son? He didn't even want it. That bastard Light stuck him with this kid just to smite him.

The child could tell that the shadow's aura had turned edgy and dangerous. He froze up and tried to stifle his crying. Death narrowed his eyes in suspicion, then turned back to his task of gathering the toys. The boy tried not to care, his fear of the man overcoming his anger at his toys being taken.

Death finished collecting the toys and dumped them into a sack. He also snatched a few necessities(unfortunately the child was not, how should he say it, _housebroken_ yet, meaning Death now had to learn how to change diapers, something death gods just didn't do) and tossed them into the sack, tightening the rope to seal it shut. He threw the bag over his shoulder and began to walk away.

The child lowered his eyes, frowning. So, this pointy man was going to take his toys and leave him? That wasn't nice. He sniffed.

Death stopped and turned around. "What are you doing? Get up," he grumbled. The child didn't understand and continued to sit there, sniffling. Death scowled. "What's wrong with you, you little brat!? Get up!" he barked. The child sensed something was wrong and flinched at Death's harsh tone. He turned around to see the shadow glaring at him. "Well?" Death growled. "Either come with me or die. Your choice."

The boy frowned and looked down and back to Death. The shadow obviously wanted something, but the child couldn't understand why he was so mad. He shook his head, confused and scared. He started to whimper.

"What? You don't want to go?" Death snarled. "Fine then, die! You're a pain in my ass anyway!" Death turned to go. The boy's eyes widened as he saw this and promptly started to cry. He was afraid of the scary man, but on the other hand, he didn't want to be left alone. He still didn't know where mommy or daddy was, and this scary, pointy man was all he had. Death stopped with a frustrated rumble.

"Are you going to come with me, or not!?" he snapped, losing his (already low) patience. The child whined in return. He just did not know what this pointy man wanted.

"Come, you idiot!" Death barked. He extended a skinny hand and waved for the boy to come over. The boy understood this motion. He tumbled over on all fours and started to clamber over to the god. Death watched amusedly as the kid tried to inch over to him at about a foot per minute. Finally, he grew annoyed and strode over to the determined child. His black fingers picked the child up once more, placing him in the palm of his hand. "You're slow, you know that?" he asked, a little calmer.

The child smiled at him.

Death's eye sockets widened. A child had never smiled at him before. In fact, no one really smiled at him. You just don't smile at death. He looked down and back to the boy. "Well, we better get you to your new home," he muttered.

--

"Welcome to my humble home," Death said, snorting. Gallows Mansion was, by no means, _humble._ "Of course, I suppose it's yours now, too."

The boy gaped in wonder. With much difficult, he pushed himself on his feet. He lost his balance, but with frantic arm waving, he got it back. He looked around the house, enchanted by the cabinets and mirrors that were plastered throughout the entryway. A spiral staircase joined them, its black granite stairs leading up to the unknown. The black-haired boy glowed with excitement. He set off to explore, but was stopped by a loud growl. Death could have sworn it was a large animal, but he soon found the source of the noise as the boy placed a hand on his stomach and grimaced.

"Oh! You're hungry, right?" the shadow took the sack off of his shoulder and began to dig through it. He pulled out a small container of something that looked sickly yellow. Death could have sworn he had disposed of this same substance when he was sick with the stomach virus. He studied the container intensely.

"…how the hell do I cook this?"

--

"Let's see. Making your own baby food- like hell. Baby allergens- kid's a shinigami, he'll live. Starting solids?" Death flipped to the page number indicated and used a scrawny finger to trace down the page. "Babies four to six months are usually ready to begin eating solid foods," he read out loud. He looked back at the child, who was now attempting to eat his own hand. "Aren't you almost one yet?" he asked, mostly to himself. The boy looked up, catching the shadow's stare. Death quickly turned back to the book. "Signs they have begun, blah blah, he can lift his neck and all that shit. Just what the hell do I give a baby? Chocolate?" He scanned the page until he found what he was looking for. "Oh, I'm supposed to give you cereal." He glanced at the jar in his hands and threw it behind his shoulder, causing the delicate glass to shatter. This caused the fragile and still curious young boy to start to howl. Death started and treaded over to him.

"What? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he snapped. The boy didn't answer, too busy bawling to hear. Death shifted uneasily, wanting to stop him but unsure how to. He paced over to the book and grudgingly searched the book on how to stop a crying child. The kid only wailed louder, confused, scared, hungry, and now lonely as well. Death let out an irritated growl and walked over to the child once more. "What do you want, huh?" he demanded furiously, bony fingers jerking the child's face towards his own mask. The child just screamed and yowled in response to the fierce yanking.

Death let out an infuriated snarl from deep in his chest and released his hold on the boy's face. He raised his gaunt hand.

_SMACK._

The child immediately stopped crying at this almost forgotten feeling. He put a tiny hand to his face and withdrew it to see red stuff on his hands. It poured down his face and slid off of his hand. He did not like this feeling. It was a very bad feeling. He began to snivel and sob, afraid of this new liquid that he had leaked.

Meanwhile, Death had retreated a few steps back, clutching his hand tightly. He stared with horror at the fresh wound on the child's face. In hitting the other, the shadow's pointed nails had torn off the sensitive skin on his cheek. He could not help but feel terrible at his outburst. He knew that hitting a child was not even accepted by humans, let alone shinigami. It was unacceptable.

The child could only sob and cry. The pointy man had given him that feeling, and he didn't like it. He also did not know what that red stuff on his face was. He tried tasting it and it tasted rather bitter. It wasn't like the food mommy used to give him. Everything was so confusing to him. He was only playing with his sailboat when the scary pointy man came in and hit the ground. Then the pointy man took him to the colorful people and they yelled at the pointy man. After that, the pointy man brought him back to his room and took all of his toys and him to a new place and gave him a bad feeling, one he didn't like at all. He could sense that the shadow was still there, so he tried to suppress his crying and stole a glance at the other.

The man's eyes (if he had any) were wide, staring at the boy. He took a couple steps back, then turned and dashed away. The boy screamed, now being left all alone in a big, scary place. He wiped his eyes. This is just like the time mommy and daddy went away for a long time and came back very angry. Except, he still didn't know where his parents were, so the pointy black shadow was his only option. But now, he had gone as well. The boy sniffled. He was still hungry. He decided to search for the pointy man, even though he had given him this bad feeling that he did not like.

He crawled around the mansion, taking in the sights. There was a room with carpet and a fireplace and a painting, and a big hall with a big table, and skulls everywhere. It was mostly dusty in this place, with a candle here or there. He had crawled a long way, but there was still no sign of the black shadow. The boy huffed and sat down, indignant and tired. Then, he felt something shift. He brightened. That _had_ to be the pointy man! He crawled over to a black wooden door and pushed it open with a stubby hand. Inside, he saw the shadow kneeling down across from a fire. He gasped softly, overcome with joy. He had found him!

Death was so overwhelmed with his thoughts that he didn't notice anyone come in until someone tugged on one of his spikes. Startled, he frantically scanned the room. He couldn't find anyone, something he thought was odd. Another tug came, and Death looked down.

The boy smiled at him.

Death stopped. The boy was smiling, but why? Didn't he hurt him? Even as a child, pain was a language everyone shared. And it clearly did not say "you are my friend". Either this kid was merciful or rather stupid.

Damn, that kid was still smiling. Death could see that the wound on his face was already healing, his shinigami body coming in handy for situations like this. The pain had most likely ebbed away by now. The shadow extended an elegant hand to feel if the wound was deep.

The child's soft, reassuring smile turned into a wide beam as Death gently stoked his cut cheek. He was beside himself with happiness. The scary pointy man wasn't so scary after all, just pointy. Mommy hadn't taken care of him after she hit him for crying because he was lonely.

Death froze. The child had been happy when he touched him, even after he had caused him pain. It was illogical. The child should be cowering in a corner in fear. (Not that Death wanted that.) The shade was utterly puzzled by the odd striped boy.

Children were complicated.

--

The two spent the rest of the day together, mostly in silence; the boy could not talk and Death did not want to. Basically, Death just stuck the kid in an enclosed area and started to scrutinize his new parenting books, thanks to Eibon's quick thinking and reasoning. Well, that was the nice way of putting it. Eibon's actual words were _"oh, someone save us. For the sake of the child, I will retrieve several books on parenting for you." _Death gripped the book firmer, grinding his teeth.

When the boy started to yawn and play with significantly less energy, Death didn't need any books to tell him it was time for bed. He picked up the only half-awake child in his arms and carried him upstairs. He strode down the hall and to the left, entering into a small room. It matched the rest of the house- black and skull-themed. Death shifted the boy to rest on his shoulder, using his free hand to summon a crib out of the ground. It was crafted out of iron gates, similar to those outside of the mansion. Death made his way over to the crib and gently lowered the other into the mass of pillows and blankets. The child, who had closed his eyes, now forced himself to open them to take in the wonder of this new. The shadow noticed this and began to stroke his cheek softly, like the books told him how to. Children became easily excited, especially to new sights and sounds, but they can also as easily be distracted. And right now, the boy bouncing off the walls with excitement was not something Death wanted. He shushed the eager child, putting a clawed hand to his mask. The child mirrored it, putting a stocky finger to his open mouth and giggling.

Death almost could have smiled at this. _Almost._ But Death was, well, death, and death just simply did not _smile_. Therefore, he kept a stern face and pulled the covers up to the child's shoulders. The child wiggled and shifted around, and once comfortable, closed his eyes and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Death sighed and turned to the doorway, flicking the light out as he reached it. He stood in the doorway for a minute, thinking to himself. Finally, he shook his head and disappeared into the light of the hallway.

_This was going to get interesting._


	2. Death Can Play

What up, what up? Well I've been working on this chapter long and hard, so enjoy it, haha XD Anyways, here's the second chapter! I stuck Eibon in there because he's awesome and he needs more love. He only gets like, 10 minutes of screen time, seriously.

By the way, sorry if this seems like a filler chapter- don't worry, it is. But hey, Kid is finally called something now! Oops, I should shut up...

(P.S. The number of pages this takes up is 7. A completely unsymmetrical number. Kid would be disgusted.)

--

The boy awoke early the next morning. He had slept fairly well, being exhausted from yesterday's events. It was then he realized what exactly had happened. He shot up in his secure, comfortable little crib and turned to the iron poles that made the bars of his prison. He gripped the cold steel bars and looked outside, taking in the black darkness that made up the room. There was a bed (for grownups, he thought), a simple dresser with a mirror, a small bookcase, and a desk. The boy sighed, dismayed to find out that it wasn't a nightmare, after all. Or maybe it was just a really long one. Yes, that must be it! The boy brightened considerably with this exciting new epiphany. Of course!

Well, this was a very interesting nightmare, so the child decided that he was going to explore and conquer this new land. He pushed himself up on his feet, then reached for the top of the gate. When he couldn't quite reach it, he puffed his cheeks and willed himself to grow taller. He lifted his heels and stood on the tips of his toes until he could finally brush the edge of the rail. He squealed in delight, but, knowing he wasn't done yet, frowned and nodded solemnly. He grasped the rail and used all of his strength to lift himself up. Straining, he placed a leg over the edge and used the newfound leverage to push himself over. He was about to grin at his accomplishment, but then he realized something.

There was no bed on the other side.

He landed on the black hardwood floor with a thump. He sniffed a bit before getting on his feet. The boy let out a small gasp as he took in the world around him. It all looked so big now. He stared with wonder for a minute until he remembered his mission. He stamped his fist onto his palm and nodded fiercely yet again. He began to crawl away until it occurred to him.

_You're slow, you know that?_

Well, the pointy man was fast. And the pointy man didn't crawl, he walked. So, the boy deduced, to be fast, you have to walk. He got on his feet again, his toes pointed inward to give him a better balance. With one final huff, he stuck one leg in the air and brought it down.

He then promptly fell on his face.

After sniffling and whimpering a bit, he stood up and attempted to try it again. This time he made sure to hold his foot down once it touched the floor. After succeeding, he stuck his tongue out and focused on the other leg. The other bare foot came in the air and planted itself on the ground without any trouble. He gave a triumphant grin and giggled.

He remembered once more what his mission was. With newfound confidence, he started to amble over to the bookcase. He stared at it with amazement and wonder. Books of all sorts of colors dotted the shelves. The boy gawked at it for a long time, then moved to study it closer. Upon inspecting it, he noticed that it was not pressed against the wall like he had expected; in fact, there was a small crack where it separated. Curious, the tiny child stuck his chubby arm through the crack, feeling nothing but air. This piqued his curiosity even more, and he then proceeded to wiggle his entire body into the crack. Unfortunately for him, he got stuck halfway in. He pulled and heaved himself until finally he popped though and landed on the other side.

He looked around and decided he didn't like it on the other side. There was spider webs and dust. He started to cough and hack, his ungraceful entrance unsettling the dormant dust. He tried to go back, but when he did, he got caught again, right in his middle. He tugged and wrenched and wiggled, but to no avail; he was stuck fast.

He whined and huffed angrily. Now he was wedged here, and who knew how long he was going to be here? Maybe he pointy man was like mommy and daddy; maybe he would leave for a long time and come back very mad. Maybe he wouldn't come back at all! The boy's eyes swelled with tears at the thought of the pointy man leaving him. He didn't want the pointy man to leave, and more importantly, he didn't want to be stuck here.

Ironically, Death chose this time to come into the child's room. He made his way over to the crib, grumbling. "C'mon, damn kid, it's morning…" He reached the crib and peered into it. The first thing he noticed was the black blankets and the soul-shaped pillows surrounding them. One thing he didn't notice was the brat.

"He escaped! That little bastard!" Death snarled, feeling the fury rush through him. He scanned the room furiously. A flash of red and black caught his eye. He looked down to see the kid lodged between the bookshelf and the wall. His anger slowly ebbed away as he sighed. He slid over to the kid and used a knotted hand to push the bookcase to the side. The boy fell to the ground with a thud. Death stared at him, then picked him up.

"It's breakfast time," he stated gruffly. The boy giggled and laughed, then started to choke and cough. Death briefly wondered what was making him cough so much, until he finally took a look at the corner that the kid was jammed in. He noted the thick layer of dust and cobwebs back there, then looked back to the still coughing boy. He shifted the little kid, getting a better hold on him.

"It's the dust, huh. I guess you're not really used to it," Death mused. He rubbed the child's back, softly pushing the red fabric back and forth. The child finally hacked his last cough and wheezed, slumping onto Death's pointy shoulder. The shadow chuckled deeply, exiting the room and traveling downstairs, where he put the child onto a chair piled with thick books. The table only came to the boy's eyes.

Death disappeared into the kitchen and came back out with a bowl. He pushed it over to the boy and disappeared once more. The child took the spoon and began to eat the brown flakes in the bowl of milk. He gave a hum of delight. This was delicious! He eagerly took another bite, some of the previous milk he had ingested escaping and running down his mouth.

The shadow came back, this time clutching a feather duster. He began to brush the dust off of the table and the pictures, only pausing to scold the boy for eating too quickly. He straightened at the sound of a door opening.

The front door opened to reveal a man in a heavy coat. He stepped into the dining room only to see something extremely horrifying:

Death was standing over a little boy, feather duster in one hand on his hip, and his other curled into a finger, shaking it at the child.

Death caught his stare and sweat dropped.

"Um, I can explain."

Eibon just gazed, dumbstruck. Then he burst into laughter, pointing at the shadow.

Death threw the feather duster at his head to shut him up, which it did, very effectively. Eibon rubbed his head. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"To shut you up," Death grumbled, taking the now empty bowl from the child's hands and picking up the feather duster. "Why are you here?"

"Hey, I just wanted to see the kid," Eibon protested, making his way over to the child and lifting him into his robed arms. The boy giggled as he was rocked back and forth.

"I can't imagine why," Death mumbled. "The brat can't even talk yet." He walked over to Eibon and lowered himself to the boy's eye level, pointing to the feather duster in his hand. "Feather," he demanded. The boy only blinked golden eyes and stared at him. "See?"

"'Feather' is a tough first word," Eibon mused, raising an eyebrow. "Why not something like 'mama' or something?" He flinched at the shadow's death glare. "Or not. Sorry, bad idea." Eibon turned back to the child, desperate to change the topic. It was then he noticed something on the boy's soft cheek. He turned to Death with a suspicious glare. The other turned back to his dusting, pretending not to notice the fierce look directed at him. "What is this?" Eibon hissed, showing him the child. On his chubby little cheek, there were fading but still present cuts, four in a row. Death shifted his eyes from left to right, determined to avoid Eibon's piercing gaze. "So the kid might've gotten a _little_ annoying…"

"A little—Death!"

"What? It was only a little cut," he stated dumbly, fumbling for an excuse. He knew that Eibon was awfully pissed. He was one of the less violent members of the warrior order, and always the first to offer a peaceful solution. He also loved children, and it was no secret he wanted some of his own. However, with his wife's disease, that just wasn't possible. Therefore, someone hurting a child was something Eibon went absolutely livid over. Death was no exception.

Meanwhile, the little boy was shaking. He could feel that the nice man holding him had turned angry. He wondered if the nice man would hit him like the pointy man did and started to quake even more.

"How could you?" Eibon fumed. "Of course he's going to be a little irritating, he's just a kid! That's no reason to-"

"I _know_, Eibon, I know," Death reassured. "It won't happen again, I promise."

At this, the robed man seemed to calm down a bit. He held the boy a little closer to him and started to mutter soothing things to the frightened child, stroking his head. Seeing the tense aura lower, the child relaxed and snuggled deep into the folds of Eibon's cloak. Eibon chuckled.

Death looked at this exchange with confusion. "Huh? The kid wouldn't even giggle in my presence," he murmured. Eibon took a look at him. "Well, maybe you should look into getting a new mask. I mean, that one scares _me_."

"Fuck you," was Death's calm reply.

"And maybe a kid-friendly vocabulary," Eibon told him, holding a hand over the child's ears protectively. "You wouldn't want him repeating those kinds of things, would you?" He glanced at the comfortable child. "What's the little tyke's name anyway?"

Eibon became deeply concerned when Death did not answer.

"_What!? _You don't even know what his _name_ is!?" Eibon yelled. Death waved his hands in defense. "It's not like kids come with name tags!" he retorted. "He can't talk either, so asking him isn't an option!"

Eibon calmed down, knowing Death was right. "Well, you can't keep calling him 'little kid' all his life."

"Or can I?" Death mused, holding a finger to his mask. He snapped his fingers. "That's it! I'll call him 'Kid'!"

"Kid? That's it?" Eibon asked him in disbelief. Death hummed in defeat before brightening. "Then his name will be…"

The robed man and the curious little boy leaned forward a bit, waiting for Death's brilliant name. The boy didn't know what was going on, but the comfy man seemed anxious, so he must be also. Death seemed to pause for dramatic effect, something Eibon found exasperating. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke.

"Death the Kid."

Eibon nodded, inwardly perking up at this. The fact that Death named the child after himself was definitely a sign of the shinigami accepting his new son. It would be a long and hard road before Death would fully come to terms with this, but it was possible. Eibon rocked the newly named Death the Kid in arms again. "I think that's a great name, don't you, Kid?" he asked the little boy. Kid smiled and began to giggle.

--

Death held the black-haired boy in one hand, the other unnecessary for now, having been sent back into the black mass that was his body. He slithered across the tile, the boy viewing the world from his place on Death's shoulder. He could see the people staring at the shadow, some whispering with scared looks on their faces, others sneering. He tugged on one of Death's spikes, obviously upset.

"Hmm?" Death hummed. The boy tugged again, whimpering. He pointed to the people behind him. Death turned to see the humans scatter, hiding behind clothes racks or store shelves. He scowled. It was like this wherever he went; the humans would cower and whisper in fear of the reaper, the Grim Reaper. Of course, his name wasn't actually the Grim Reaper. He was Death- yet, humans insisted on giving him this nickname. He could do nothing about it. And he knew that wherever he went, it would be like this. Still, a part of him ate away. He did not want Kid to have to deal with this.

"Just ignore them, Kid," Death muttered, turning once more. He proceeded to his destination and set the child down. The golden-eyed boy gazed with awe at the massive number of clothes- there were shirts like his, only different colors, and little shoes, and bibs and everything. Death glanced at him. "Pick something out," he ordered, gesturing to the clothes.

The boy looked at him, then back to the clothes. There were just so many choices! But which one was the right one? It had to be perfect, he decided. He looked up to the pointy man again, noting what a dark color he was. The pointy man was perfect. He wanted to be just like the pointy man. He stumbled over to a shirt the same color as the pointy man.

Death was shocked. "You can walk!?" he asked, surprised. Last he checked, the kid could only crawl. When did he learn to walk?

The kid didn't know what to do with that, so he only tugged on the shirt, whining. Death reached out an arm and took the shirt from the hook. "This?" He glanced at the eager Kid suspiciously. "Black?" The child only smiled. "Okay, I guess," Death agreed hesitantly. And here he thought that the boy would pick out red, a color he knew too well. Death shrugged this off and picked out some more clothes for him, showing them to Kid for his approval. He mostly wanted either black or something similar. When they had finished, Death dreaded the part that came next.

Mostly, whenever humans whispered about him, he ignored it. But when he actually had to deal with them, this was what he was anxious about the most. He came to the counter with a grimace, setting the clothes down with his free hand, the other holding Kid on his shoulder. The woman behind the counter, maybe twenty or so, glanced at the child, then back to Death. Kid was staring at her, obviously intrigued by viewing a human in such close proximity. The shadow, on the other hand, scrutinized her, using his Soul Perception to see her soul. To say he was staring right through her was a true statement. Her soul, a terrified, frightened mess, trembled, frozen in fear. Death stared at her for a few more minutes before finally speaking, letting the cold words drip from his mouth.

"Aren't you going to ring me up?"

The girl seemed to snap out of her stupor, quickly grabbing the items and scanning them. Death put the money on the counter and left, the child still gazing at the girl was a wondrous expression behind the protection of the shadow.

--

"Hey! Stay still, brat!"

Kid only whined more and flailed around, effectively spilling another gallon onto the floor. Death was kneeling behind the bathtub, losing his patience. "Look, you want to be clean or not?" he growled, pining Kid's arms to his sides. When the child didn't move, he sighed and let go of one of the other's arms to reach for the bottle of shampoo hiding on the edge of the tub.

Kid took this opportunity to counterattack; he whacked the water as hard as he could, causing a small wave to erupt and soak Death to his core. Death blinked, surprised, then shook his head and glared at Kid. The black-haired boy giggled, pointing at the normally bouncy spike atop of Death's head now hanging uselessly down his back. Death growled and was tempted to hit him, but he remembered Eibon's fury and kept his composure. He thought for a moment, then smirked as he came up with a plan.

He brought a clawed hand into the water and pulled it back up, lightly splashing Kid. As the child sputtered and giggled, Death took this opening and snatched the bottle of shampoo, pouring a generous amount of liquid onto Kid's hair. As he massaged Kid's head with thin, nimble fingers, the child started to scream. Death stopped and released his hold, worrying. Had he hurt him? He looked at Kid with concern until he started to rub his eyes. Death immediately understood.

"Oh, it's in your eyes, huh?" He grabbed a towel and started to dab at them, hoping it would help. Kid continued to wail, but quieted considerably at Death's gentle motions. Eventually, he was reduced to a couple sniffles. Death calmly finished washing him and dried him. Kid smiled and settled himself into the shadow's arms. Death blinked and cocked his head. "Hmm? Are you tired? Time for bed, then." He got up, still holding the child.

As Death walked the familiar hallway again, Kid soon realized where he was going, and he did not like it. He did not want to go to bed. He strained and managed to wriggle himself out of Death's thin arms and hit the ground. He got up, dizzy, and started to amble away. When Death tried to pick him up again, he squealed and scampered down the hall.

Death growled as he followed the path of the boy. He found him wandering the dining room, heading for the kitchen. Death smirked. "I have you now," he muttered.

As the black-haired child reached the doorway, a huge black shadow emerged from the ground. He yelped and jumped back, landing on his backside.

"I_ said_ time for bed, Kid," he hissed. Kid whimpered and got up, scurrying away. Death gave chase, following the boy to another entrance to the kitchen. The shadow briefly wondered why the boy wanted to go into the kitchen so badly, until he saw his answer; the boy was reaching into the shopping bag and grabbing some cookies.

"No cookies, Kid!" Death scolded, reaching for him. Kid shrieked and dashed away, cookies in hand. The other turned, watching him run. "I said, NO COOKIES!" he yelled, following him. Kid looked behind him, only to screech at the sight of the furious pointy shadow. He stumbled down the hall faster.

Death came to a stop when Kid disappeared from sight. He looked around, irritated. "You're driving me up a wall, you damn kid!" he growled threateningly. If that kid didn't show his weird, half-striped self in the next minute, there would be hell to pay. The thought of using his Soul Perception to locate the trouble-making child never even crossed his frantic, violent mind.

Meanwhile, Kid was in hiding under the dining room table, munching on a chocolate-chip cookie. He was proud of himself; it looked like the pointy man couldn't find him. He was a little bit afraid of how the pointy man was yelling, but Kid thought that he would never, ever find him under here. It was a perfect hiding place; neat and precise.

Death stopped and listened intently. He could hear the crunching of cheap, five dollar cookies being ingested. He pinpointed the location and smirked. He crept silently towards Kid's hiding place, getting down on his hands and knees and crawling over to his son's bubbly soul. Clawed hands tore the tablecloth upwards, revealing Kid with his hand in his mouth, cookie crumbs evident all over his face.

"Gotcha, brat!" Death the Kid squealed and started to escape, but the other was too fast. A hand flew out and grabbed the child by the waist, pulling him towards the god. Death scooped him up in his arms, glaring at him. The child's lips twisted into a frown, knowing he had been caught. He huffed, crossing his arms and slouching.

Death couldn't help but bark a laugh at this. He took the cookies from the unsuspecting Kid's hand and set it down on the table. He took the black-haired boy up to his room and set him down in his crib again, this time literally strapping him to the crib.

Kid yelled and screamed. Now he was tied to his bed and the pointy man was leaving. The pointy man had not left him yet, but who knows? He could leave forever!

Kid didn't want the pointy man to go.

Not _ever._


	3. Death Can Miss Me

WHOO HOO! Whew! I am so sorry for the wait! I almost forgot all about this story, so all my original ideas are pretty much gone, but don't worry, my brain and I are trying to solve our differences :D I worked on this puppy all weekend, so, enjoy it! And thank you for all the nice reviews, I love you all 8D And bribes inspire me… *_winkwinknudgenudgeirism_*

Anyyyyways, in this chappy we meet, dun dun da dun dun_ DA_! Spirit and Stein! Yes, I know this means Maka is significantly younger than Kid, but Spirit was a father at an early age, right? Right? …curse you time paradoxes! DX Yeah, I probably should have put someone else, but I didn't want to have any more OCs. I don't like OCs in my fanfics, especially when it's all about them. So yeah.

**Oh, and something else! This is important! I have a poll going on concerning the Painting Nightmares chappy titles, since I don't think I like them. I was going with this "childhood" theme, or something, but I don't think it's working…so please vote! **Okay, I should shut up now…enjoy!

--

The sun shined again.

As Kid tried to squint to block the smiling sun, he could feel the dried tear trails on his face. He faintly remembered crying to himself almost all night. He could almost not remember why until he thought of the pointy man. He sniffed, his eyes starting to water. The pointy man still had not returned. What if he was gone forever? What if he left him all alone? The lonely child started to whimper. He tried to stop the tears that were starting to spill from his eyes, only to find that his hand and legs were bound. He tried to struggle against the bonds, but they were too tight. He started to wail and scream.

"Alright, alright!" Death growled, floating into the child's room with his clawed hands over his (nonexistent) ears. "What are you crying about?" He made his way to the crib and looked down into it, inspecting Kid's face intensely. It was then he noticed the tears trickling down the boy's face. "You _have_ been crying...haven't you?" he muttered, wiping the tears away with a gnarled finger.

Kid, at the sight of the pointy man, immediately brightened. He stopped crying and gave Death a big, toothless grin. The shadow chuckled and unbound him, pulling the child into his arms. Kid wrapped his arms around the pointy man's neck, hugging him tightly. If Death had a mouth, he would smile as he hugged him back, setting him down on the ground.

"Now Kid, I have to go somewhere for a little bit, so I expect you will be—Kid, are you listening?" Death cut off from his explanation when he noticed Kid stumbling away. He decided to humor the child and followed him as he slowly made his way over to the other side of the room. He stopped at the dresser and gazed up into the mirror.

Death raised a nonexistent eyebrow as Kid snapped out of his daze and went over to the wastebasket next to the dresser and turned it upside down. He then climbed atop it and reached for the edge of the dresser. When he couldn't get to it, he started to hop a little, causing the flimsy metal trash can to shake. Kid gave a worried whimper at the sudden instability before regaining his balance and trying again, this time jumping higher. He managed to grip the edge of the dresser, but he had lifted himself off of the wastebasket in the process. His tiny legs flailed until they stopped against the side of the dresser. Determined, the child puffed out his chest and used all of his strength to pull himself up. He collapsed onto the top of the dresser.

Death watched all of this, a mixture of emotions fluttering around. He was amused by the child's antics, but also amazed at Kid's determination and intelligence at such an early age. Then there was puzzlement at what the child was trying to do.

His questions were soon answered as Kid picked himself up and ran up to the mirror, pressing his hands against the glass and staring right into his own golden eyes. Death bent down so his face was level with Kid's. He peered into the mirror, then glanced at Kid, puzzled. Kid was still staring wondrously at his own reflection. Death stared at him, then back to the mirror, then back to him, utterly bewildered. "Okay, well, I think it's time for breakfast," he announced, picking up the troubling child.

Kid, saddened to be apart from the amazing glass, quickly brightened at the sound of the pointy man's voice. He knew it had to be something good. Except for the "bath" that the pointy man gave him last night. It was fun to splash the pointy man, but not to get his eyes burned!

As Death went into the kitchen to fix him something, Kid sat patiently on his chair. It was then he noticed the large double doors opening. He suddenly grew frightened and jumped out of his chair. Upon landing, he staggered backwards a few steps before landing on his bottom. He jumped as he heard the doors creak shut. He stumbled to his feet and wobbled as fast as he could to the kitchen.

He opened the door to see Death standing over a counter, something in his hands. Kid squealed worriedly, running up to the pointy man and wrapping his arms around his…well, what would be his leg, if he had any.

Death looked down, seeing Kid attached to him. Confused, he bent down to pick him up, the cereal box entirely forgotten. "What is it, hmm?" the shadow asked, tilting his head. Kid shook in fear, his golden eyes darting from Death to the doorway. Death followed his gaze, then wandered towards the doorway, Kid in his arms. He opened the door to reveal a man in his entryway, looking puzzled.

"Death?"

"Eibon?" Death turned to the child in his arms and murmured softly, "It's just Eibon, see?" He put Kid on the floor. Kid calmed at the slightly familiar person. If the pointy man liked him, then he should too, since he wanted to be just like the pointy man. He turned and tottered over to his chair.

"Sorry, I suppose he didn't know-"

"You two are bonding!" Eibon suddenly stated happily.

"What?" Death was caught off guard. "…no, we're not," he argued, shaking his head.

"Yes, you are! I mean, look at how well you two get along already. He seems to like you."

"He likes everybody."

"No, he's very apprehensive and guarded. Did you see how he reacted when I came in?"

"He didn't know it was you…"

"Exactly."

"But…" Death sighed. "I guess. But I don't see why this matters. It's not like I'm going to be stuck with him forever."

Eibon held back a sigh. He had thought a child would be a good influence on the coldhearted god, especially one like Kid. He did not want to see Kid's shinigami powers taken away and throwing him to the world, or worse, have him killed. He had hoped that Death would take care of the child, and the child would teach him to love. All this was for naught, as it looked like the shadow was still not accepting. Eibon wondered if he ever would.

Death noticed Eibon's anxiety. "Eibon?" he called.

Eibon looked up. "Yes?"

"Just checking to make sure you were still on the same planet."

"Very funny, Death."

"That was a joke?"

"Oh, ha ha. Don't you have a meeting to go to?"

"…" Death suddenly started, alarmed. "The meeting! Oh, shit!"

Eibon could have smacked himself.

"You forgot!?"

"I didn't forget! I had to make breakfast for-" Suddenly, he stopped. "Kid!" He hurried over to the small child, who had just successfully climbed the stack of books to get onto his chair. He picked up the small child in his arms, putting all of Kid's efforts to waste. Kid huffed, upset about being picked up from his chair, until Death began to speak.

"Now, Kid, I have a very important meeting to go to, so Eibon will watch you. I expect you to be on your best behavior. Be a good boy, okay?" Death told him carefully, making sure Kid's short attention was focused on him. Kid blinked.

"Okay, good. I'll see you later." He set Kid in his chair gently, then rushed over to Eibon. "Kid's a good kid, so he'll be okay, but watch he doesn't get in too much trouble, he can be a little odd…" Death trailed off, remembering the mirror incident. He then snapped back to reality, remembering the time. "But he should be fine. I'm late!" Death finished, darkness seeping from where his feet would be. Eventually, he was covered in darkness, and when it disappeared, he was gone.

Eibon shook his head. Who knew that death could be a handful? He was about to address the child when he heard whimpering. He turned to see Kid's golden eyes full of tears, his little hand outstretched to where Death was previously. Eibon looked back, then at Kid once more. He had a sinking feeling about this…

Suddenly, Kid burst into tears.

--

"Death. You're late."

Death cringed in his seat. He had hoped Light wouldn't notice his delayed entrance. What a foolish desire.

"…hmm. Well, we must start with the meeting. Everyone, start with your reports."

Death inwardly groaned. He hated these meetings; they were boring and tedious and people would talk on and on and on…he had sworn to keep his meetings short and simple long ago because of meetings of torture like this.

As Winter started her speech, Death's mind floated away from the meeting. He began to think about the incident that morning. Why had Death the Kid become so interested in the mirror? Was it became of his reflection, or something else he saw in the mirror? But what could it be? Mirrors aren't used for anything other than looking at yourself; the image of vanity. Yet, Kid wasn't vain. No, he was much smarter than that. He had to be seeing something else.

Or, perhaps Death was overanalyzing this.

Perhaps the child was just intrigued by his reflection.

Or maybe…

"…Death? Death!"

"Hmm?" Death straightened, looking around. The rest of the elements were staring at him. He grimaced; clearly he was in trouble…

"Your report, please," Light told him.

"Oh, that…"

--

"Kid! Kid, calm down!" Eibon cried, desperately rocking in the child in his arms. "Kid, he's going to be back! Please don't cry…" Eibon himself was on the verge of a breakdown. The child was so distressed by the god's sudden departure, he had been crying for the past hour. Eibon couldn't say he blamed him, but he wished the child could understand him. Oh, if only Death could come back!

"Hey, hey Kid, why don't we watch T.V., huh?" he cooed to the child, trying frantically to distract him. Kid reduced his screaming to a small whimper. "Here, let's watch T.V." He looked around, quiet for a little. "…does he….have a T.V.?"

After hours upon hours of searching the large mansion for a television, Eibon and Kid eventually found one in the attic. Eibon laughed triumphantly (and with a little bit of insanity) and set Kid down on the wooden floor. Eibon got behind the television and rubbed his hands together.

Now, Eibon was a scientist. He spent most days holed up, with piles among piles of books and papers. He rarely ever went out into the sunlight and helped Death kill people. So therefore, he did not get a whole lot of exercise. This became evident when he tried to pick up the television. Needless to say, he couldn't. He resorted to sliding it along the ground. He strained to get it across the room. His efforts were almost successful, until he got to the stairs.

Eibon paused, deep in thought. Kid watched curiously as Eibon snapped his fingers, getting an idea. One trip downstairs, one back up, and Eibon had a thick book in his hand. With one wave of his wide-sleeved arm, the television glowed a light blue and rose from the ground. Kid stared in awe. He had never seen this before!

Eibon made it float down the stairs and into the living room, where he set it on a table. He closed the book, proud of himself, and took Kid by the hand, leading him to the couch. The two crashed on the couch. Eibon was about to wonder why the television wasn't on when he remembered something crucial. He picked up his book and conjured up a remote, setting the book aside.

Death the Kid, being the curious child he was, stared at the cover of the large book. While Eibon was fiddling with the remote, Kid opened the book and gazed upon the page. So much black! Kid squinted, but he still couldn't understand anything on the page. Frustrated, he huffed and tried all the other pages. Some of them had pictures, which Kid tried to memorize.

When Eibon finally figured out the remote, he noticed Kid with his book. He chuckled. "A reader, are you? Well, this changes everything! I think you and I are going to get along just fine." Kid looked up at him and tilted his head, a confused expression on his face. Eibon stole a glance at the page he was on. "But this is a bit difficult for someone your age…and I don't think Death has any other books, much less one for your age. I know! That's something he can do with you! He'll love you in no time!" Eibon ruffled Kid's hair, very excited.

Just then, Kid's stomach grumbled.

"…oops, Death forgot your breakfast…"

--

"Well, now that we have the reports done…Death."

Death knew this was not going to be good. "Yes?"

"I'm sure we all want to know…how is the child faring?"

Death knew what he wanted. Light had stuck him with Kid to make his life a dismal mess. Light wanted to see him squirm and break down. Light wanted him to be as miserable as possible. So Death would give Light what he wanted.

"…he is doing fine."

Death answered hesitantly, looking away, pretending to seethe in anger. Light seemed satisfied with this answer and continued talking, but Death tuned him out. He was concerned about how much longer he could keep this up. If Light knew that he was actually getting along with the child, then Kid would be killed, like what was originally planned. If Light grew bored of his game, then Kid would be killed. The only option was to take away his shinigami powers and give him up to the humans. Death assumed Kid was too young to remember Eibon, or even him.

…

Somehow, the thought of Kid forgetting all about him twisted his cold heart. Maybe Light's plan was working. Did he really want Kid to stay? No, it was impossible. At any rate, he couldn't take care of Kid.

Death the Kid. Why on earth did he name him that? It was something, something that just took over…he was just so happy, and so excited to name him. It was another side of him. A less scary side. Maybe, maybe if he could…

"_Death!_"

The shout of his name jerked the shadow back to reality. Everyone was staring at him, again. Light tapped his foot impatiently. "Death. Please. Pay attention."

Death nodded. "Yes, sir," he grumbled sarcastically.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

--

Kid was on the couch, thinking. Eibon had put something on while he looked for a book, but Kid wasn't really paying attention. His focus was more on the pointy man.

The pointy man had left! It still hurt him to think about it. He thought the pointy man was different. He thought the pointy man would never, ever leave him. The pointy man was his best friend. And the pointy man just leaves.

Kid liked the robed man. The robed man was nice to him. The pointy man liked the robed man, too. Although sometimes, the robed man would yell at the pointy man. Kid got really mad when he did that, but soon forgot all about it. But, why did the pointy man leave him with the robed man? He wanted the pointy man!

The striped-haired boy began to sniffle. He had already cried so much, but it hurt. He just wanted the pointy man to come back. He wished he could go and get the pointy man, but he didn't know how! He sniffed again, then looked to the entryway and hatched an idea.

That door was where he came in, so it must be where he can get out!

Kid, excited with his new discovery, jumped off the couch. Being careful to avoid Eibon's frantic search, Death the Kid made his way to the double doors. With much effort, he managed to push the doors open just enough for him to squeeze through. Straining, he popped through the door and out into the open.

Huffing, Kid got up and clumsily brushed the dust and dirt out of his black shirt. When he looked around, he was amazed. So many sights! And it was so bright, too. He shielded his eyes from the harsh sun and looked around in wonder. It was so different from the inside. There was gray and green, and big things that his old picture book called "trees". Excited, he ran across the walkway and stopped at the stairs. The ground felt rough and hard beneath his feet, so he figured it might be bad to fall here.

He carefully made his way down the concrete steps and then ran to the iron gate that surrounded Gallows Mansion. He stuck his head through the cracks in the gate and pulled himself through quite easily. Once on the other side, he squealed and ran across the street to the green.

The green stuff felt soft beneath his feet, so Kid sat down there for a little bit. Then he remembered his mission and stood up, determined. He started walking through the trees and grass, looking everywhere for the pointy man.

Eibon came back with some books in his hands. "These are still a little too advanced, but they are the easiest books I could- …Kid?" He stopped when he noticed the empty couch. He looked around. "Kid? Kid!?" He grimaced, the books falling to the floor. "Uh-oh…"

Kid had wandered for about ten minutes before he got tired. He plopped down on the grass with a whimper. The pointy man wasn't anywhere, and he was getting tired. He didn't even know how to get back home. He was stuck, and lost. He wished for the pointy man to come and save him more than ever.

"Hey, what's that?"

Kid straightened when he heard someone. He got up, frightened, and took a couple steps backwards before falling down again. He was so tired, he couldn't do anything but watch as a redheaded boy and a gray-haired boy made their way over to him. The redhead picked Kid up, inspecting him.

"Hey, it's a kid."

"It's a _little_ kid, Spirit!" the gray-haired boy said, pointing to Kid. His eyes turned dark and a grin grew on his face. "Let's dissect him."

Kid only whimpered. He didn't understand what they said. He did not know whether to like these boys or not.

The one called Spirit held Kid close to him, protecting him from the gray-haired boy. "Stein! You don't dissect humans! Especially little kids!" The boy called Stein looked depressed. "Aww…"

"Well, who d'ya think he belongs to?" Spirit asked.

"I dunno. I've never seen him before."

"Neither have I. He's weird, though. Look at those stripes in his hair."

"Yeah, and his eyes. They're yellow."

Spirit peered into Kid's eyes, then started, dazed. "Whoa, sick!"

"Are you sure we can't dissect him?"

"Yes! Jeez, Stein. He belongs to someone."

"But, c'mon!"

"No." Spirit turned to Kid this time. "Hey, little guy. Who're your mommy and daddy?"

Kid only squirmed in Spirit's grasp.

"Uh, I think he wants down," Stein assessed.

"Why thank you, Captain Obvious." Spirit rolled his eyes and set Kid down on the ground, leaning over him. "Now will you tell me?" he asked nicely.

Kid only stared at him, blinking.

"I don't think he can talk," Stein suggested.

Spirit huffed, but ignored the comment. Still talking to Kid, he asked, "Can you show us your house, at least?"

Kid knew what the word 'house' was- it was in his picture book. However, he didn't know which way to go, so he just looked left and right, confused.

"He's lost?"

"No kidding, Stein! But maybe if we show him the houses, he can pick out which one he lives at."

"_All _the houses in Death City?"

"No, not all the houses in Death City! Just the ones around here. He couldn't have wandered too far, right?"

"I don't think this is gonna work…"

"Sure it is!" Spirit picked Kid up, holding him in his arms. "Hunh!" he groaned. "This kid's heavy!"

"Suck it up."

Spirit glared at him, but walked out of the park with Kid in his arms. When they reached the streets, Kid looked all around, shifting in Spirit's hold. Spirit groaned, trying to get a good grip on the child. "Hold still, kid! Look!" Spirit showed Kid a row of houses.

Kid shook his head 'no', spreading his arms wide and whining.

"It's bigger than that? Hey, you're a rich kid, then! That means you're in the rich neighborhood! Ha ha, see, Stein? Easy!"

Stein rolled his eyes, still depressed about his stolen opportunity. This child really peaked his interests…

Before he knew it, they were in the rich neighborhood. Kid stared at the big houses as they walked by, but none of them was as big as his house. His house was black, like the pointy man, and had the white head things, like the pointy man's face. But he didn't know how to tell them that.

It was then, when Spirit turned, that he saw it. He squealed and pointed at the large mansion, babbling happily.

"You found it?" Spirit asked happily, then paled when he saw what the kid was pointing at.

Stein followed Kid's finger and paled even whiter.

"…_**LORD DEATH'S HOUSE!?" **_

Spirit took Kid off of his shoulder and brought him to his own face, shaking him a little. "You're Lord Death's SON!?"he asked, shocked.

"Lord Death has a son!?" Stein shouted, equally as astounded.

"No wonder he looks so weird!"

"He looks nothing like Lord Death, what are you talking about!?"

"Kid, you sure your house is that one!?"

"What do you think his name is?"

"More importantly, who's his mom?"

"You think Lord Death knocked some human up?"

"He must've! Otherwise, this kid should have a skull for a face!"

"God, is he really his son?"

"I dunno, but we better get him back before Lord Death kills us!"

"Oh, yeah! Hold on tight, kid!"

Spirit put Kid on his shoulders carefully, and when Kid was clutching his hair tightly, he broke into a sprint. Stein quickly ran up to catch him.

Kid squealed loudly as the wind rushed through the hair. He liked this feeling. It felt like he was a bird, flying away like in one of his storybooks. He felt so happy and free.

"Hey, I think he likes it," Stein said.

"Hey buddy!" Spirit called to Kid. Kid cried out happily in reply, making Spirit laugh. "You like this, don't you?" Kid only squealed loudly, clutching Spirit's red hair tighter. When Spirit stopped at the iron gate, the odd boy started to whine.

Spirit took him off his shoulders. "Hey, hey! You're home, look!"

Kid looked up, and saw the familiar mansion. He squealed and pointed.

"Yeah, you're home! See, home?" Spirit pointed to the mansion.

The child looked at him, then froze as he remembered something. He climbed on Spirit's shoulder and outstretched his hand, reaching for something. Spirit took him off his shoulder. "Huh? What do you want?"

Kid whined and whimpered, struggling in Spirit's hold. Stein looked around, then noticed someone coming. "Hey Spirit, we got company."

"Huh?" Spirit looked around, then noticed the man making his way over to them. Spirit walked up to him, Kid in his arms. "Hey man, is this kid yours?"

"Kid!" Eibon cried. He took Kid from Spirit's arms and held him close. "That was close one, I thought I'd really lost you!"

_His name is Kid..? _ Spirit thought, but Stein interrupted. "Is he your son?"

"No," Eibon replied.

"Is he…Lord Death's son?" Spirit asked.

"…yes…no…well…" Eibon paused, having some difficulty in answering. "Well, to everyone _but_ Lord Death."

"Huh? What's that mean?"

"Never mind. Thanks for rescuing Kid…and me."

"So, is his name really Kid?"

"Actually, it's Death the Kid. Kid's just a nickname."

"Death the Kid…?"

"I know, not very original. But, it's his name. Isn't that right, Kid?" Eibon asked. Kid just pouted. "No?" Eibon asked, confused.

"I think he wants something…we found him in the park. He was totally lost, but then once we took him home, he acted like he wanted something else other than to go home…" Stein analyzed.

"Hmm…I think I know what it is," Eibon sighed. "I think he misses Lord Death."

"Where is he?" Spirit asked.

"In a meeting. He should be back soon, but Kid's been crying all day for him…I left him alone for two minutes and he escapes…again, thank you. What are your names?"

"Spirit Albarn, the cool one," Spirit introduced. "And that's Stein, the weird one."

"That's _Franken_ Stein," Stein argued. "If we're going by full names."

"Spirit, Stein, thank you," Eibon told them. Then, he thought of something. "Hey, whenever Death- I mean, Lord Death- and I go on a mission, we'll need someone to watch Kid…would you be willing to do it?"

"Will we be paid?" Spirit asked.

"Spirit!" Stein scolded.

"What? Lord Death's loaded!"

Eibon chuckled. "Of course, you'll be paid. But, as you can see, Kid's quite a handful…"

"We can take him!" Spirit shouted.

"Wait, 'we'!?" Stein demanded.

"We'll split the money, sixty-forty."

"Hey!"

Eibon laughed. "Good! I'll call you."

"Later!" Spirit waved, then took off. Stein shook his head, sighing, and followed.

--

Kid immediately fell asleep after this event, so Eibon put him in his crib and left, happy with himself. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by a massive black shadow.

"Oh sh- Death! Don't scare me like that!" Eibon whispered fiercely.

"Why are you whispering?" Death asked, whispering as well.

"Kid's asleep!" Eibon hissed. He pushed Death out of the way and proceeded down the stairs. Death, after stealing a glance at the sleeping child, followed him. Eibon stood in the doorway.

"So…? How did it go?" Death asked hesitantly.

"Well, five minutes after you left, he started to cry. He cried for a good hour. Then, I tried to distract him with T.V., but he seemed more interested in my book- by the way, that's a good thing for you two to do together."

"He can't read," Death told him, puzzled.

"That's why you read it to him. That's how he learns."

"…Okay, go on."

"Oh, yes. Then I tried to find some books for him, but when I came back, he was gone."

"Gone?" Death repeated. "Where did he-?"

"I'm getting to that! So I was looking everywhere for him, and I was looking outside when two boys come up, holding him."

"Two boys…?" Death asked. "Who are they? Why did they have Kid?"

"Their names and Spirit Albarn and Franken Stein, but don't worry, they seemed like very nice boys. Anyway, they said they found him in the park and brought him back.

"…I think he was looking for you."

Death was silent.

"…okay? So, I'll go then?" Eibon started on his way to the door when Death stopped him.

"Wait, Eibon."

"Yes?"

"…what do you know about mirror magic?"


	4. Death Can Care

Oh my shinigami, this chapter was so hard X.X I had like, no inspiration for it! First I thought of this, and then that, and then I didn't like that, so then…yeah, my mind is like an amusement park without a map. Also, I had a hard time writing this compared to my other chapters since I wrote the other chapters in one go, if you know what I mean. But I worked on this off and on, and I'm not so good with that. I can't finish things like, a day later. I pushed myself(even through a terrible stomach ache .) to finish it this weekend, though, since I wanna get to the climax so badly x.x There's another chapter before that, though. And also, thank you all my lovely reviewers~ How I do love to get your reviews in my inbox. Oh, yes.

Okay, so in this chapter, we see how Shinigami-sama acquired the mirror in the Death Room, why his spikes are asymmetrical, how old Death the Kid really is, and finally, why he's so obsessed with symmetry. Oh boy!

Gets kinda dark at the end, though. I have a little dark fetish ;) And also, Death's language :( He's definitely in character at the end…I think. LOL.

**Also, an ultra-special thank you to **_**irism**_**, who made me the loveliest piece of fanart I have ever seen~ (granted, the ONLY piece I've ever had…but it was still freaking amazing). Thank you! You were my inspiration lol 8D **

And remember, the more reviews (and put some effort into it, please, I put effort into my stories so you should put effort into reviewing them...) and fanarts I get, the more inspired I get lD

--

Kid woke that morning, happy and rested. He stayed in his crib for a little bit, getting to his feet and padding around in the soft sheets and pillows. He held onto the metal bars of his crib and frowned. He tried desperately to think of why he was so sad, but it felt like something was missing. Then it hit him.

It was the pointy man.

He had left Kid alone yesterday with the robed man. He had left and he wasn't coming home. Death the Kid sniffled, trying to hold back his tears, but he couldn't. He burst into full-scale wailing. It just hurt so much. He missed the pointy man more than he did Mommy or Daddy.

When he was all out of tears, he decided he might as well get out of his crib, since he was hungry. He expertly climbed the bars, this time sliding down the bars, then letting go and landing on his feet. He waved his arms this way and that before regaining his balance. Then he slumped over, feeling very down, and shuffled his way out into the hallway.

In the hallway, he glumly made his way along, until he heard voices floating around. He quickly looked around and stumbled hurriedly to the room where they were coming from. It sounded like the robed man, and…the pointy man!? Could it really be him!?

"So, this thing can call people?"

"Actually, they have to call you. You can call a certain area, however, and it will give you a bird's eye view of the area. But if you want to talk to a person, they have to call you."

"So, I have a number, right?"

"Right. 42-42-574."

"Hmm. Well, I can't really see what this can be used for…it's not like I can't leave and check on someone in person."

"You asked what mirror magic I had…"

"Yes, yes, I know."

That was definitely the pointy man! He didn't leave after all! Kid was so happy and excited. However, he didn't know if the pointy man liked him anymore, so he opened the door a tiny little bit so he can fit. Then, he snuck in silently, taking in the scene before him.

The pointy man and the robed man were definitely there. Red curtains with gold ties were draped all around them, and the floor was painted pitch black to look like an endless pit of darkness. The two were standing in front of a grand mirror with a golden frame and a skull adorned at the top. Candles were placed offset of either side, lit for eternity. Kid quickly hid himself behind a tall curtain, peeking out of it to spy on the two.

Death smirked under his mask. He felt the child's curious but hesitant soul enter the room, thinking that he was hidden from Death's view. Death quickly hatched a plan.

"You know, I wonder where Kid is," Death said to Eibon casually. "It's almost noon. He should have been up by now."

Eibon looked confused for a minute, then picked up on it. "Well, I don't know. Do you think he ran away?"

Death the Kid puffed his cheeks out. He didn't run away! The pointy man ran away from him! He felt the overwhelming urge to jump out and prove the robed man wrong.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to…" Death trailed off, heading for the door. When he passed Kid's hiding spot, he snatched the child in his arms and lifted him above his head. "Find him!" he teased. Kid squealed and waved his tiny arms frantically, trying to escape from Death's grasp.

"Hey Kid, did you miss me?" the shadow asked, a little more serious. Kid still cried out in happiness and tugged on Death's claws, ignorant. He was just so happy that the pointy man wasn't mad at him! The pointy man came back! He was simply overjoyed.

Death chuckled, snuggling into Kid's cheek. The cold from the mask made Kid giggle at the strangle feeling, but he didn't mind. Eibon smiled behind his own mask.

After feeding Kid, Eibon brought up the suggestion of reading to him. Death put a claw to his mask in thought. Finally, he thought of something. "It might be with his toys."

"He has toys?"

"Yes…I picked up a few things from his old room and brought them here. I thought they might come in handy if I did."

"Well, let's get them! Where are they?"

"…"

"…Huh? No way! You lost them!?"

"No! They're in the attic!" _I think, _Death added silently.

Once in the attic, Death and Eibon spilt up to cover the attic, with Kid sitting and watching with wide eyes. Eibon complained numerous times about the amount of dust that Death harbored in his house, but the shadow quickly tuned him out. Rooting through the enormous books, chests, and whatever else Death hid up there, he came across an instrument. He pulled it out and brushed the dust off of it.

It was a mandolin- where and how he had acquired it was a mystery to the god. Just for kicks, he played a few strings. It was still surprisingly in tune. Death started when he heard loud giggling. He turned to see Kid laughing and pointing at the instrument. Death played a few more strings. "Mandolin?" he asked. Kid squealed and clapped his hands in delight.

"Hey, is this it?" came a strained voice. Eibon heaved a grunt as he pulled a large sack from a heavy pile. He threw it on the ground, it being too heavy for the scientist. Death could have shook his head and made a smart comment about this fact, but instead he focused on the dusty sack in the middle of the attic. He strode over to it and opened the drawstring to reveal children's items.

"Ooh, look what we found!" Death chirped to Kid. "It's all your old toys!"

At the word 'toys', Kid squealed and immediately stumbled his way over as fast as he could. The hard wood hurt his hands when he fell forward, but he was too distracted by the sack- it was the same sack that the pointy man had when he left his room.

Death brought out a few toys from the sack while Eibon sat beside him, watching. First, there was a stuffed animal- an octopus that played music if you squeezed one of his tentacles, something Death found out the hard way while getting it out. Kid took it, looking upon it with a mix of wonder and awe. After the octopus, there were a few storybooks, some clothes, a ball that rattled, and finally, Kid's precious wooden sailboat that he had been playing with that day.

Kid ignored all the other things and took the sailboat from the pointy man. He stared it at intently, images running through his mind. The pointy man coming into his room, the attack…those blood red eyes piercing into his very soul. He suddenly grew frightened and dropped the sailboat, chipping off some wood in the process.

Death stopped pulling out toys to watch the child. Kid's dull golden eyes were wide, staring at the boat with fear and pain. His soul was almost identical to when Death had first met him- terrified. He was about to reach out to Kid when the child's expression changed.

Kid slowly started to remember the events that happened after. He crawled over to the sailboat and clutched it tightly, shutting his eyes. Then he opened them again, crawling over to Death and sitting against his shadowy arm, the boat still clutched in his hand.

Death looked down to see Kid snuggled against his shadowy arm. It was amazing that a child as small as he was already going through many different emotions.

Thinking about Kid's age got Death to thinking of other matters. Just how old _was_ Death the Kid? Death hadn't a clue- guessing someone's age was never his forte, no matter how many souls he ferried.

"Eibon, you're smart, right?"

Eibon looked up- it was apparent that he had been deep in thought. "Yes, incredibly."

Death chose to ignore that comment. "How old do you think Kid would be?"

"…I'm not sure. I would say…around one?"

"…I don't know his birthday…"

"…Would you like to make one for him?"

"…" Death thought deeply about this. Sure, making one's birthday up was typically untraditional, but what other choice did he have? Kid cannot go through life without ever knowing his birthday or even how old he was…yes, Death decided. He would make one up. "What day should it be?"

"Well, no better day than today."

"Today? Are you sure?"

"Why not?"

"..." Death turned to Kid, who was still attached to his arm, waiting patiently. "Guess what, Kid? Today is your birthday!"

Kid cocked his head, confused.

"Your birthday! You know, it's when you eat a lot of cake and balloons and streamers…" It had occurred to Death that this was Kid's first birthday- and it wasn't very much, considering it had been his birthday for about a minute. Death got up and scooped the boy in his arms, carrying him down the attic steps. Eibon followed him, with one last glance at the forgotten toys.

Once downstairs, Death put Kid in his chair and fetched a box from the kitchen. Pulling out a cookie, he offered it to Kid.

Kid seemed hesitant at first, but with another glance at Death's face, he squealed. Putting his sailboat carefully on the table, he reached out for the cookie, taking it from Death's claws. He munched on it happily.

"Happy birthday, Kid," Eibon said, presenting him with a brand new storybook. Kid took it eagerly, licking his fingers and wiping them on his shirt before flipping through the pages.

Death turned to his friend. "When did you get that?"

"Last night, when I was working on your mirror. I didn't know if he had any other books…and reading an essential thing for Kid to learn."

"Hmm." Death looked back to Kid, who was indulged in his storybook. He gave him another cookie, which he ate excitedly, still reading. The shadow tilted his head. "What does a one-year old shinigami want?"

"Anything you'd give him, probably," Eibon said, shrugging. "You could give him a banana and he'd probably he thrilled, if it's a present from you."

Death turned to Eibon, visibly irritated. "Will you stop that!? It's not like he idolizes me."

"I dunno, he likes wearing black, right?"

"Doesn't mean anything," the shinigami grumbled, placing the box of cookies in front of Kid. Still grumbling, he paced off, up the grand staircase and into the dark of one of the rooms. Eibon watched, puzzled. He looked over to Kid, who was equally as confused. Death came back a minute later, a wrapped present in his claws.

"Thought of something?" Eibon teased.

Death glared at him. "Just a little something." He presented it to Kid, who took it eagerly. After peeling the black ribbon and wrapping off, he proudly held up a coloring book, complete with crayons and extra pages. He held it close to him, giggling.

Eibon had to smile. "Well, I think I'll be going back now. You two be good, now!" With a wave, he left in a flurry of cloth. Death and Kid stared after him, then Kid turned back to his gifts. He was still hugging the coloring book, but his eyes were getting lower and lower by each passing second. Death tutted and picked the child up. "Nap time, hmm?" he murmured.

--

Months passed. Kid grew and grew, and Death still stayed with him. Eibon asked him how long he was planning to keep Kid, to which Death stayed silent. In truth, he didn't want to let the child go. However, he knew it was best for him if he gave him up. He just didn't want to, not quite yet. This boy intrigued him.

Light hadn't tired of his game yet, so Death was keeping Kid close until then.

Of course, there were many challenges along the way- teething was the primary one. Death learned how a shinigami teethed the hard way- he wasn't sure if that spike was ever going to grow back. He didn't mind, though- the scar was a happy reminder of the child (not that Death would ever admit to that).

Eibon started to see Kid less and less. When Death investigated, he came up with odd answers. He refused to believe any of them; how could his friend, his one true _companion_ go to the witches? No, it simply wasn't true. However, the more and more he looked into it, the more likely it had become. Had Eibon really become so desperate to save his wife that he would risk getting involved with witches? Their friendship had become strained, and Death was becoming more and more ill-tempered.

Once night, when Kid was playing with his blocks in the sitting room, Death came home. Kid didn't really mind being left alone; the pointy man just forgot, that's all. He was confident that the pointy man would come back eventually- and he always did. He was always a good boy, so that the pointy man would praise him. He loved hearing the pointy man praise him.

This time, Death seemed different. The air around his shadowy form seemed to crackle, and he was bent lower than usual. Kid squealed upon his arrival and held up his hands. Death noticed this, and strode over to him, snarling. "What the hell do you want, you damn brat!"

Kid wasn't thrown off. The pointy man naturally had a scary voice, so this wasn't a warning sign to him. He gestured to his marvelous castle that he made with blocks. It looked a little crooked to Kid, but he didn't mind. He thought the pointy man would like it, too.

Death only glared at the structure for a few seconds. In a flash, there was a loud smash, and blocks of all different colors flew to all corners of the room. The castle had been destroyed by just one swing of shadowy claws.

Kid was now frightened. He had come to understand that the pointy man was now visibly furious. He wanted to cry- tears started to pool up in his eyes- but he refused to let them go, for fear of the pointy man.

"You goddamn little shit!" Death spat. He felt nothing but rage, not even considering his words. He was numb. "I don't have time for this!" With that, he glared at Kid. The child was only staring at those damned toys. Death growled in vehemence, and disappeared into the shadows of the house.

Death the Kid was still staring at the blocks, a pained expression on his face as he tried to comprehend what had happened. The pointy man didn't like his blocks. Did the pointy man not like him? No, that wasn't it. It must have been the blocks. Where they the wrong color? Kid had used black, his new favorite color. The pointy man was black, so he must like black, right? Or maybe, maybe it was how they were built?

All of a sudden, he figured it out.

The pointy man didn't like the blocks because they weren't perfect.

There had been an uneven amount of blocks on either side. Kid knew it now, and he was ashamed. From then on, everything would be perfect. There would be no more mistakes, so that way the pointy man would love him. Yes, everything would be perfect, perfect, just like the pointy man.

Everything would be neat…

_and tidy._


	5. Death Can Keep His Promises

Hiya again~! Starry here with her Sunday night update of Painting Nightmares! Yes, cliffhangers abound! But this is the chappy before the climax, so w;; Upon popular(or not so popular) demand, Spirit and Stein's day of babysitting the newly OCD'd Kiddo-kun. Not a whole lot of Shinigami-sama in here, but the part at the end makes it all okay ;D and if you were wondering, that person at the end ain't Spirit or Stein… xDD it's late, so not proofread. But it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, may be shorter than the others w;;; Enjoy and look out for the climax since I'm really excited to write that! Also, review 'cause it inspires me lD

"Do you know what we're doing, Stein?"

"…" Stein knew the answer, but he wanted to let Spirit crack his joke anyway. "What?" he asked.

"We're knocking on Death's door!" At this, Spirit burst into laughter. Stein didn't even try to laugh and even rolled his eyes. "Let's just do this, Spirit."

Spirit immediately stopped laughing and glared at Stein. "You really don't have a sense of humor," he replied sourly. "Fine, fine." Taking the brass knocker on the large doorway, he knocked on Death's door twice. The two waited, but no answer came.

"No one's answering," Spirit said.

"Maybe they're out."

"I--" Before he could finish his sentence, the scythe was cut off by loud crash. There was silence for a moment, and then came a wail.

The two waited for Death's voice, the fluttering of his cloak as he came to his son's aid, but there was nothing. The cry continued, more painfully than before. The two boys became nervous.

"Huh? Lord Death's not coming. Can he not hear him crying?"

"I'm not sure," Stein replied thoughtfully.

"…Stein, I got it! You should use your soul perception!"

"Oh, yeah!" Stein closed his eyes and focused on the house. He searched for any soul wavelengths in the area. In the kitchen, Kid's soul was crying and wailing, very distressed. Stein hunted for any more soul wavelengths in the house, but he couldn't find a single one.

"…Lord Death is gone," Stein reported a little sadly.

"Then Kid might be in trouble!" Spirit's strong concern for children kicked in as he looked for a way in. There were no open windows or hidden passageways as far as he could see. He looked to Stein.

Suddenly, the doors to the manor burst open. Spirit lowered his foot and Stein lowered his palm.

"How bad do you think Lord Death is gonna damn us when he finds out we broke into his house?"

"That's a good question," Stein replied, a little worried as well. Spirit only nodded to him in reply and raced towards the kitchen, his friend following. When they reached it, they saw Kid in the middle of broken glass and what looked like pancake mix all on the floor. There was blood all over Kid's face and shirt, staining both his clothing and the tiled floor. Spirit rushed over to Kid, picking him up gently and bringing him over to the sink. He hurriedly picked out the glass that was lodged into Kid's broken skin, amazed at the rate Kid was already healing.

"Stein, Kid's healing really fast, but there's still glass in there!" Spirit told him anxiously. "What do I do?"

Stein took Kid from Spirit and began to quickly dig out the glass from Kid's wounds. Spirit held Kid still, as the boy was trying to escape from Stein's hold, reaching for the broken bowl and crying endlessly. When all (or most; neither meister nor weapon was sure) of the pieces were out of Kid's skin, Stein cleaned the wounds with soap and water, and Spirit managed to dig up a couple of bandages- not that they were necessary, but just to calm Kid. This was to no avail, however; Kid only cried more so and kept reaching for the bowl. Stein went over and cleaned it up while Spirit held Kid, trying to calm him down.

"Shh, Kid, you don't have to worry, we got it," Spirit murmured, smoothing his striped hair reassuringly. "We're not mad."

Kid calmed a little, still sniffling. He wrapped his little arms around Spirit's neck and squeezed. Spirit chuckled and hugged back, then set him down. "You hungry? Let's see if we can find you something to eat, huh?" he suggested.

With that, Stein and Spirit ransacked the kitchen for any sort of breakfast or food item. It looked like Lord Death hadn't gone shopping for a while; the cupboards were nearly bare, and the refrigerator nearly empty. However, they managed to gather up a couple somewhat suspicious looking waffles and stuck them in the toaster. Kid, meanwhile, stumbled around, slightly adjusting things like paintings that had fallen from the walls and were crooked on the floor. The weapon and meister pair was slightly disturbed by this.

Spirit sighed. "Where's that guy with the robes when ya need him?" he asked. Stein looked over to him, but didn't say anything. Finally, the toaster popped. Spirit got them out of the appliance and once they cooled, gave them to Kid. Kid munched on them, effectively getting crumbs all over his black shirt and loose cargo pants. He started to brush them off, but all he was doing was getting more crumbs in. Frustrated, he frowned and sat down, dejected.

"…that _can't_ be normal," Spirit finally stated.

"Yes. I don't think any child can be worried about a mess, especially a small one," Stein replied, scientific as ever. "No normal child is that neat."

"Speaking of which, don't normal children talk at this age…?"

"Yes. But…this child isn't normal…"

"…oh yeah."

Kid looked up at them, his expression upset. Spirit smiled and helped him brush all the crumbs out of his shirt, which made the boy brighten. Stein couldn't help but smile at the exchange. Kid suddenly started and got up, tugging on Spirit's wrist. Spirit looked surprised and allowed Kid to take him up to the graveyard nursery.

The decorations unnerved Spirit, but Kid felt perfectly at ease. He climbed onto a chair and swiped a thin book off of the desk. Stumbling back to Spirit, he opened the book and flipped to a page, showing it to the scythe with a whine.

It was a picture of Lord Death holding hands with Kid.

Spirit almost melted, slightly of sadness. "I don't know where he is, Kid. But hey, you wanna play with us for a little bit until he comes back?"

Kid, slightly crestfallen at the news, perked up at that last statement. He cheered happily. Spirit laughed and picked up Kid, nuzzling him. The boy giggled, but he couldn't help but feel sad. This is what the pointy man used to do.

Stein smiled, then looked around. He reached in the closet and pulled out a plastic bucket. "Why don't we play with…these things?"

"You mean blocks?" Spirit asked, raising an eyebrow at his meister.

"…yes?"

"What do ya say, Kid?" Spirit asked him. Kid frowned, then nodded solemnly. Stein dumped the blocks all over the floor, while Spirit set the little boy down. Kid stared at the blocks spread unevenly all over the floor, then grabbed a few. As he worked, Stein and Spirit looked on incredulously.

"…Is he…color coding his blocks?"

Indeed, young Death the Kid was separating the red, blue, yellow, and green blocks from each other and putting them in four piles. Once that was done, he started to build, occasionally stepping back and closely inspecting his work. He made sure that it was never asymmetrical for very long. When he was finished, he sat down and stared at his block masterpiece.

Spirit and Stein stared at it oddly. It was a large, pointy structure…that was perfectly symmetrical. They glanced at each other before simultaneously pulling Kid away from the blocks.

"Maybe we should do something…less OCD," Spirit suggested.

"Yes, yes, that would be a great idea," the scientist hastily replied.

Kid only looked at them curiously. Then he stumbled over to his toy box and rummaged around until he found his wooden sailboat. He sat down and made it "sail" across the sandy floor. His normally bright golden eyes were sad and dark.

Eventually, since he seemed tired, the weapon and meister put him to an afternoon nap. As he slept, the teens frowned. Spirit folded his arms and sighed. "We have to do something with him…"

"Yeah…"

"Hey! Why don't we show him around Death City?"

Stein blinked at Spirit's eagerness. "Okay."

After waiting until he got up and getting him properly dressed, the two took Kid(and the boat, because Kid refused to go out without it) and walked into town. They first brought Kid into the bookstore, where he gazed upon the books with disinterest.

It was noon, so they got lunch at a nearby café. Spirit put Kid in a chair, then grabbed a seat for himself while Stein brought over the food. Kid only picked at his food, eating a little then going back to his sailboat.

"He's so obsessed with that thing," Spirit said, a little concerned. "It's almost as creepy as his OCD."

"It's probably a keepsake," Stein deduced. "You know, something to remind him of Lord Death."

"I know what a keepsake is," Spirit snapped, annoyed.

Then they left. Kid shuffled along, clutching his sailboat and scuffing his black shoes on the cobblestone as the two tried to show him places that kids would like- the toy store, the candy store, and even the ice cream place, but nothing seemed to spark the striped-haired boy's interest. Another thing to note was that Stein had to pull Spirit away from no less than ten girls. Yes, not even the cuteness of a small child could quell Spirit's womanizing tendencies…

Finally, the sun was drooling as it set over the horizon. Spirit and Stein glanced at each other, totally out of ideas. That is, they _were_ until Spirit brightened. "Let's try the park!" he asked desperately.

"Alright," Stein said doubtfully. They walked to the park, where there were only a few kids still out, their parents calling them home. Kid walked out a few step, a little hesitant.

It wasn't long before a red-haired boy walked up to him. This boy looked a little older than him, maybe four or five.

"Hey, you there!" he said, pointing at Kid. "You got weird hair! What's up with that!"

Kid blinked.

"Huh? Can't you talk yet? Geez, you're dumb!" As Kid clutched his sailboat closer to him, the red-haired kid noticed. "Hey, what's that? Gimme it!"

Frightened, Kid held it closer. The redhead got angrier, and walked over to take it. Kid whined furiously and stepped back, protecting the boat. Determined, he puffed out his cheeks and glared at the other.

"Ooh, so scary!" the boy teased. "Give it! I'll smash that stupid boat!"

Kid understood this and grit his teeth in fury. Before he knew it, bodiless shadows seeped from the ground and gathered behind Kid. Along with his fierce golden eyes and protective stance, he looked slightly intimidating. The boy stepped back in fear and shouted a "freak!" before running off.

Death the Kid calmed down, and the shadows disappeared without him even seeing. Spirit immediately ran up to him, kneeling down and asking if he was alright. Kid nodded and shuffled over to the swing set, where he hopped up on one of the swings and just rocked slightly, holding his sailboat.

"What were those shadows!" Spirit asked Stein anxiously.

"I'm not sure. Maybe he's also a shinigami, like his father."

"Yeah, that's gotta be it. Those shadows look like something Lord Death would have. Still, I think kindergarten's gonna be hell for the little guy…"

"I can imagine…"

They stayed there for a little while as the rest of the children left (shortly after the redhead ran around telling them all about the "freaky kid with the stripes"). When the sleepy sun finally disappeared and the moon came out, Spirit took a sleeping Kid in his arms and carried him home. The toy boat never left his grasp.

After putting him to bed, Spirit and Stein glanced at his sleeping form.

"That's so cute," Spirit gushed.

"I still wanna dissect him," Stein pouted.

"You wanna dissect everything." After a minute of silence, Spirit finally spoke again. "When I get older, I want to have a little girl."

"…where did that come from?"

"Huh? Oh, nowhere. It's nothing."

After walking down the grand staircase to Lord Death's mansion, they bumped into something. Thinking it was just a table or something, Spirit stepped back to be greeted with the sight of a skull.

After screaming like a little girl and holding onto Stein, Spirit finally regained his composure. "L-Lord Death-sama!" he stuttered.

Death looked from the nervous scythe to the emotionless(or maybe angry?) meister, then back. "Where's Kid?" he asked, a little bit of desperation settling in his voice.

"H-He's upstairs, sleeping. We t-took him for a walk, and-"

"Yes, yes. Thank you." With that, Death flew up the stairs and disappeared into the shadows. Spirit and Stein exchanged glances, blinking.

Cracking open the door to Kid's room, Death peered into the room. The striped-haired boy was indeed, fast asleep in his crib. Death walked over to him and sighed. "Kid…" he murmured, before it hit him that the child was sleeping. He panicked as Kid moaned and his eyes fluttered open. He glanced nervously into the crib as Kid's eyes adjusted to the light.

It took a minute for Kid to recognize the blackness above him, but the familiar skull mask suddenly struck a chord for him. The pointy man! The pointy man was back! He was suddenly filled with joy as he got up and tugged on the pointy man's black spikes.

Death, confused, bent down to see what was wrong. Kid suddenly jumped up and clung to his neck, squeezing him in a hug. Death couldn't help but smile under his mask. "Kid…oh, Kid," he murmured, wrapping his claws around the child. "I'm so sorry I left you. I'm sorry I haven't been so happy lately. I'm sorry for missing everything."

A squeeze said that he was forgiven.

Death pulled back for a moment to look at the boy carefully. Kid was smiling back at him, his eyes full of life again. Death tilted his head and smiled back, not that it was visible.

"Aww, how cute. It makes me sick."

Death froze.


	6. Death Can Change

**Update: I meant to ask this when I first posted the chapter argh! But does anyone want to ask me a question about **_**Painting Nightmares**_**? It can be about the story (since I know I wasn't clear and yes, this story defies time) or how I wrote it or whatever, I just wanna do one of those question things. Send me a review with your question and I'll stick it at the end of the epilogue ;) **

Yeah, I know, I'm the only one posting fanfiction during finals week. _HELL YEAH, GONNA FAIL MAH FINALS, YEAH! WHO'S WITH ME IN FINAL FAILING BECAUSE OF READING FANFICTION ALL DAY?_ But I wanted to get this done since two weeks on a Sunday night is usually when I update this thing. Except it's Monday, but whatever. Anyways, here's the Big Battle, AKA Teh Climaxeth! And I bet you never expected it to be _him_, right? Who am I talking about? Well, a lot of people lD

By the way, do you know how _good it felt_ to write in Shinigami-sama's attitude instead of Death's? OH GOD! I never realized it was so hard to write like Death but God! It felt so good to be writing like a coked shinigami instead of a serious one. Especially when it comes to Shinigami-sama…

Oh yes; in this chapter, we get to see Kid's reaction to his Sanzu lines, Spirit and Death resonating for the first time, **who Kid's real parents were, **Kid's first word, and Death's change from Death to Shinigami (physically as well as mentally).

Oh, and sorry for no Stein/Spirit closure. I couldn't think of what to do and I'd probably end up making it slash and this ain't no slash story (though Eibon and Shinigami may or may not have a little somethin' somethin'goin' on there but it's probably just the yaoi fangirl in me seeing stuff like that)

All right, let's go!

Death turned. If not for the mask, he would be scowling. "Asura."

The black-haired man grinned. "Well, well! You remember me, then?"

The shadow only narrowed his eyes in reply. "You're alive…"

"Yes, yes, but I didn't come here to just rub it in. I believe you have something of mine."

Death's eye sockets widened, immediately placing a protective claw over Kid. The boy's eyes were wide and frightened, and he kept trying to hide himself behind Death's pointy cloak.

"I would appreciate it if you would give me back my son."

Kid's eyes started to fill with tears. Daddy was back…and Daddy was going to hurt the pointy man.

"Like hell!" Death snarled. "I'd die before giving Kid up to the likes of you!"

"…Kid?" Asura raised an eyebrow before breaking into a snort. "_That's_ what you named him? Not very creative, are you?"

"Shut up. You're supposed to be dead. I thought Light had killed you…!" Before he knew it, Death had answered his own question. This only infuriated him further. "That bastard!" he fumed. "He let you live! He was in on this!"

Asura grinned. "Maybe. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take my Demon back now…"

_Demon?_ Death thought. _And he says I'm not creative…_

As Asura waited for an answer, Death's claws slightly twitched on Kid's little frame. Asura remained emotionless at this, but proceeded to cough up Basura, his weapon. As the red blast shot from the weapon, Death stepped in front of Kid.

Unfortunately, the attack was too much for him; both he and the boy were blown backwards, crashing through the wall of Kid's nursery. Death held Kid close as he flew through the air and slammed into the stone wall of an apartment, back-first.

One pain-filled grunt later, Death shook the rocks out of his cloak and glared at the being emerging from the rubble from Gallows Manor. Asura smirked before spitting up Basura once more.

One blast later, Death flew out of the smoke, Kid in his arms. He frantically swept the city, looking for a good place to put the boy. He surely couldn't fight Asura with him, after all. But it could be dangerous. Who knows what else crawled up with Asura? And then there was the issue of Kid's true mother…

"Lord Death! Lord Death!"

Swiftly spinning around to the sound of the voice, Death was, for once, glad to see the redhead waving to him and his gray-haired meister standing next to him. Floating down to them, Death put Kid in Spirit's arms. "Can you watch him, please?" Death asked.

"Sure, but what's going on?" Spirit replied.

Death remained silent.

"Is he after Kid…?" Stein asked.

"…"

"Lord Death…?"

Thankfully, Death was saved by a scream. The trio, plus Kid, all glanced around. Some of the citizens of Death City were stumbling around, screaming and laughing. One human licked a window.

"Asura's insanity wavelength…" Death muttered. "It's making them go insane."

Suddenly, some humans spotted Kid. They started to scream and pile on Spirit. Turning his arm into a scythe blade, Spirit fended them off.

"Lord Death," Stein said. "We'll take care of them. You go fight Asura."

Death nodded. "I'm counting on you two." With that, he fled with inhuman speed.

Stein and Spirit exchanged glances, and Spirit put Kid on the ground. Suddenly he began to glow, lifting into the air and forming a scythe. Stein caught the black handle expertly.

"Don't forget Kid!" Spirit reminded him. Stein scooped Kid up with his free hand and started to run. Humans from every corner of Death City immediately started to attack, but he fought them off. Stein ran around the city, looking for a safe place.

Meanwhile, Death was locked in battle with the Kishin. The two exchanged powerful blows, scattering the city with ash and smoke. Suddenly, Death sprung upon Asura, pinning him against the wall of a building. While Asura flailed, Death drew back his claws.

Suddenly, he felt something stringy wrap around his arms and upper body. He didn't even have time to blink before he felt a strong jolt surging through him. Straining, he raised his claws and broke the string- which turned out to be webbing. Death narrowed his eyes before glancing to the direction of the webbing.

"Arachne," Death growled.

Down on the ground, Stein was having difficulty with fighting with one hand. _I can't use my Soul Purge when I'm carrying Kid,_ he thought. Looking up to Lord Death, he noticed that it was now two on one. _Maybe Lord Death could use some help…_ Suddenly, he hit a realization. In his studies, somewhere, he had read that the primary weapon of shinigami like Lord Death was a scythe. Surely Lord Death knew how to use a scythe! It was perfect!

"Lord Death!" Stein yelled. "Lord Death!"

Death looked down to see the ash-haired meister looking up at him. Stein cocked the arm holding Spirit back. "You okay with this?" he asked his partner.

"Y-Yeah, I think I'll be able to match his wavelength." In truth, Spirit was highly doubtful. After all, he'd never had to match the wavelength of a _god._ But if Stein had faith in him, then he'd try his best.

With the most force he'd ever given something, Stein flung Spirit at the death god. Spirit hurled through the air, twisting and tumbling, until Death's black claws wrapped around the handle. Spinning the scythe for a couple turns, Death pointed the blade at the two.

"Asura and Arachne, your souls have strayed from light and become Kishin eggs. For the sake of the world's order, I will take your souls!"

"Oh? But what about our son?" Arachne asked, her tone light and giggly. "He's an evil soul as well."

Death only snarled furiously and flew towards her, scythe poised. He swung the scythe forcefully through the air, the scythe making a whizzing sound as it cut through the air at incredible speeds. Arachne expertly dodged Death's attacks.

Spirit, inside his space, was straining. Matching the wavelength of the death god was not easy, and Lord Death sure wasn't making it any easier. His soul had swelled up, and it was getting harder for Spirit to hold on.

"L-Lord Death!" he yelled. "Please!"

Death froze, then relaxed. "Sorry, Spirit. I guess I'm not used to matching wavelengths…" he murmured. He toned down his wavelength, and immediately Spirit could feel some of the pressure lifting.

"T-Thanks, Lord Death…"

Stein propelled another insane citizen away with his Soul Purge. He picked up his pace again, running at his full speed. Kid held on to his patched shirt tightly, scared out of his mind. Suddenly, Stein skidded to a stop.

Between two shops, right in front of him, there floated a black-haired man. Stein grit his teeth and clutched Kid more protectively.

Asura responded by loosening the scarves over his chin to reveal his mouth. His teeth were jagged and his tongue was pointed, and saliva was coated everywhere. Stein gasped in surprise. "You…you've become a Kishin," he breathed.

The other only grinned wildly and assumed an offensive position, his scarves floating around him. Stein put Kid down and mirrored Asura, his hand sparking with energy. He glanced to Kid out of the corner of his eye. "Run, Kid!" he ordered. "I'll hold him off!"

Wide-eyed, Kid stood there for a little bit before another yell from Stein got him to turn and run. He headed in the other direction, looking back all the while. Stein looked like he was handling himself fine against the other, so Kid turned a corner and kept running.

Looking up, he could see the pointy man holding something pointy and battling someone. The pointy man looked really cool, but who was he fighting? Kid ran a little more before seeing her.

Upon looking at her, he stopped and sat down, staring at the ground.

Mommy. The pointy man was fighting Mommy.

He didn't know if he liked Mommy anymore or not. Looking back, the pointy man was nicer to him than Mommy was. Even though sometimes she would stroke him gently, it was always whenever he did something "good" that only ended up making him feel bad. The pointy man never made him do anything "good" like Mommy did. The pointy man hit him sometimes, but so did Daddy, and Daddy never said he was sorry like the pointy man did.

Looking back up, he focused on the pointy man and puffed up his cheeks.

The pointy man would win. He was sure of it.

Suddenly remembering what the gray-haired boy told him, he picked himself back up and started to run again.

"Lord Death!" Death diverted his glare at the spider witch to look at his weapon curiously. "Hmm?"

"Look, Stein's fighting Asura!" Spirit told him anxiously. Death searched on the ground until he found the two battling. Death was caught. He didn't know what to do; aid the young boy, or fend off Arachne?

"Spirit, what do you think I should do?" Death asked seriously, his gaze sliding over to his weapon's.

Spirit was caught off guard. _Lord Death's asking _me?he thought. "I-I think Stein will be find just fending him off. For now, we'll deal with Arachne."

"As you wish." Death grinned and flung for the witch.

Stein dodged Asura's scarves expertly, jumping back. Once Asura's onslaught had stopped, he sped towards the Kishin and smacked him with his Soul Purge. This only sent Asura back a little, and Stein grimaced, knowing he couldn't hold him off for long.

_Hurry, Lord Death!_

Kid kept running, every once in a while searching the red tinted sky for the pointy man. Eventually, Kid slowed down. He had never run so fast for so long before, and he was tired! Not to mention it was nighttime, and all he wanted to do was go to bed.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Gazing into a window of an abandoned shop, Kid finally saw his face for the first time.

And it mortified him.

His clothes, his eyes, his face was perfect, but his hair…his hair had three white stripes, but only on the left side of his head. It was flawed. It wasn't perfect.

_It wasn't perfect._

Kid's wide eyes filled up with tears as he started to choke back sobs. Finally he burst into tears, water dripping down his face like rivers. He wasn't perfect! It wasn't fair! No wonder Mommy and Daddy and the pointy man didn't like him! He was useless, worthless, pathetic!

All of a sudden, Kid felt something wrap around him and hold him close. At first, he thought it was the pointy man. He felt like the pointy man, and maybe acted a little like the pointy man, but this man was brighter than the pointy man. Kid tried to look up into the man's eyes, but he couldn't see anything. He didn't like this man, not at all.

"Hello, kid," the mysterious man drawled. "Happy to see me?"

It swiftly dawned on Kid who this man was, and he wasn't happy about it. He cried out.

Death heard Kid's cry and turned around. Who else but Light, his enemy, was floating above Death City, Kid in his arms? Death let out a furious growl. "Light!"

Leaving Arachne alone for now, Death hurled towards Light. He swung the scythe through the air, meaning to separate Light's head from his body, but Light ducked, raising his hand. Death grunted, recoiling from the blow.

"Ah ah ah," Light taunted. "You wouldn't want to hurt Precious here, would you?"

"You…" Death snarled. "You let Asura live. You faked their deaths. You stuck me with Kid as a punishment, but it was only until Asura and Arachne regained their strength. You knew I wouldn't be able to kill him."

"Precisely. You're very good at this, Death; maybe you should use your brain instead of your muscles for once."

Death let out a roar and lunged for Light. Unfortunately for him, Light just dodged once more, although this time was different. This time, he pretended to lose his grip on Kid, letting him fall towards the ground. "Oops," he teased. Kid cried, his little hand reaching out.

"No!" Death shouted, watching Kid fall. Scythe still in hand, he cut through the air, his spikes flying wildly. When he reached Kid, he wrapped his clawed hand around the boy. Sadly, Death knew he had used his shinigami speed and gone too fast while chasing Kid; there was no way he was able to slow down in time. He braced himself for impact, clutching the child tightly.

The crash blew several stands away and broke the windows off the nearby stores. When the dust and smoke cleared, Kid coughed a little. The two were side by side on the smashed pavement. Kid fluttered his golden eyes open slowly to see Death staring at him. But this time, there wasn't the faint blue or even red behind his eyes. There was nothing. Kid got on his knees, shaking the pointy man and whining.

It suddenly hit him that he really didn't know what to call the pointy man. He had just always been there. Kid started to scratch his head as he thought. Well, in his picture, _chichi_ was father. But the pointy man wasn't _just_ chichi to Kid! He was more than that. What else did Kid see? It was in Eibon's book, that word he liked.

_Chichi-ue._

"Chichi-ue!" Kid yelled, shaking his new honorable father. "Chichi-ue!"

Finally, the blue light came back to Death's eyes. "Chichi-ue!" Kid said cheerfully, greeting Death with a wide smile.

"You spoke…" Death murmured. "Your first word. Chichi-ue. Honorable father…"

Kid nodded, his bright golden eyes shining.

Death remained silent for quite some time before touching Kid's forehead with a gnarled claw. "You want to be my son…so you shall get your wish, Death the Kid."

Death the Kid blinked, confused. A moment later, the Sanzu lines in his hair started to glow. His shirt and hair started to fly in the breeze, as well as Death's cloak and spikes. Then soon as it had begun, it ended. The glow in his Sanzu lines faded. Death grunted, obviously in pain- but Kid didn't know what for.

"Demon, stop this." Asura flew high in the air, glaring down at Kid. He held out a hand. "Let's go home."

Kid puffed out his cheeks, standing up. He glared at his real father with as much malice as a three-year old could give.

"I'm Death th' Kid!" he protested furiously.

Arachne, fed up with her son's behavior, screeched and dove for him. Death raised a clawed hand for Kid, but he was helpless, lying on the ground. Kid, frightened, stared wide-eyed at his furious mother. Suddenly, a flurry of tan came out of nowhere and tackled the witch, pinning her to a wall.

"E-Eibon! You traitor!" Arachne screeched. "We had a deal!"

"Deal's off," Eibon responded coldly. "I don't need it anymore."

Death straightened, glimpsing his friend. "Eibon…" he murmured, his tone seeping with gratitude and delight. Eibon looked back at his friend. With his mask on, it was impossible to tell, but Eibon burned with shame. _At least, I can try to make it up to him by saving Kid…_

Turning his attention back to Asura and Light, Death gripped his scythe. "Spirit," he commanded. "Let's do it."

"T-That? O-okay," Spirit stammered. "I can do it."

Picking the scythe up, Death slowly lifted it to an offensive position.

"Let's go! Soul Resonance!" Death and Spirit yelled at the same time.

Spirit and Death both screamed as they passed their wavelengths between each other. Spirit was having trouble keeping up, but luckily Death was watching his wavelength carefully. Suddenly, Spirit's black blade transformed into a massive, rainbow colored spiky blade with three holes that resembled Death's mask.

Death propelled of the ground, aiming for Asura. He twirled his scythe, the resonance growing stronger with his power.

"KISHIN HUNTER!"

With a loud roar, Death cut right though Asura's shield and nearly embedded the blade in his stomach. Then he turned around and grabbed the skin on the kishin's neck and _pulled._ He pulled and pulled until he had collected all of Asura's skin in his hand. Taking the rest of the kishin's body and soul, Death wrapped all of the kishin's skin around it, making a sack. He held out a hand and chains materialized in it. He chained the bag shut, then took it in his hands as his own soul started to expand.

Meanwhile, Eibon had his book out and was starting to recite a chant, keeping Arachne in his grip. The spider witch struggled and struggled until finally, as Eibon was about to cast the spell, she melted into spiders and escaped. Eibon cursed before turning to Kid hesitantly.

Kid was looking with awe and wonder in the sky. He pointed to the sky. "Wha's Chichi-ue doin'?" he asked. The scientist was puzzled, then grew happy. _Chichi-ue, huh…_

Looking into the sky, Eibon narrowed his eyes. "H-He's…oh my."

"Wha? Wha is it?" Kid asked, worried.

"It's nothing, okay?" the other comforted, picking up Kid.

Death's soul had swelled to the size of the city before chains had settled on it, exactly like the ones on the kishin. The chains faded, and Death's eyes closed. He suddenly felt very exhausted. Looking at himself, he noticed his form had gotten a lot smaller and a lot less pointy.

He started to float back down, holding Asura's bag with his claws. Eibon set Kid down to meet Death, but Kid ended up dragging him along anyway. Eibon was very nervous and embarrassed when Kid stopped in front of the shadow.

"Chichi-ue! Chichi-ue!" Kid cheered.

Death looked down to Kid for a minute before ruffling his hair. "Heya, Kiddo."

"Lookie, lookie! He came too! He saved me!" Kid said, tugging on Eibon's sleeve.

"He did," Death noted. "And I owe him for that. Thank you, Eibon."

Eibon shifted nervously. "D-Death…"

"…it's Shinigami now, okay?"

Eibon looked up. This wasn't normally Death's way of speaking. It wasn't quite kid-friendly yet, but he was definitely trying. Eibon smiled. "Shinigami. What's with the voice, anyhow? You're actually _taking_ my advice?" he teased.

"W-Well, I just don't want the kids to be scared of me, that's all…" Shinigami stuttered, embarrassed.

"You still want to start a school?" Eibon asked.

Shinigami looked at him. "Yes. And I think I'll finally get to do that…seeing as I won't be going anywhere for a while."

"L-Lord Death…" Spirit interrupted. "Can I…?"

"Oh my. Spirit, I completely forgot, sorry! You can turn back now."

A flash of light, and the redhead stood there in human form, rubbing his neck. Shinigami stared at him.

"And it's Shinigami. You all right?" he asked.

"Yes, Shinigami-sama," Spirit answered, polite as ever. Shinigami sighed at the formality, but he supposed it was to be expected. Spirit mentioned something about Stein, then walked off.

"Shinigami," Eibon started, but Shinigami cut him off.

"I know what you're thinking. And stop worrying about it! I'm just so glad your soul isn't a Kishin Egg, y'know!" Shinigami said, his voice getting weirder and weirder by the minute. "…are you still going to continue with BREW?"

"Yes. Please don't try to stop me."

"I wasn't planning on it," Shinigami answered, surprising Eibon again. "I know how much it means to you to finish something. I just hope you know what to do if it gets into the wrong hands…"

"Don't worry, I've got it all under control." Eibon looked around. "Looks like Light escaped."

"Yeah," Shinigami sighed. "I really don't know what his motive was or anything…I guess he just hated me that much. Still, he gave me Kid…"

"Oh yes. So you are going to keep him, then?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations…you have an heir."

Shinigami looked to Kid, who was staring curiously at the laughing moon. "I guess I do, don't I? Imagine that!" Upon this, Kid locked eyes with Shinigami and then stumbled over to his honorable father, finally collapsing face-first on the pavement due to exhaustion.

Eibon chuckled, then looked to the moon. "I have to go."

Shinigami picked Kid up. "Aw, all right. But won't you promise to visit me? I'll get ever-so-lonely here!"

"…you are _really_ creeping me out."

The god made a scandalized face before swatting at Eibon with his free hand. "That's not funny!" he whined. Eibon laughed heartily, dodging Shinigami's attacks. When the death god was all tuckered out from his battle, Eibon stepped back, opening his book.

"See you, you two."

When Eibon had vanished, Shinigami looked to the boy- _his son, _he kept reminding himself- in his arms. Kid was fast asleep, his fists tightened around Shinigami's cloak.

"Well, looks like _someone_ needs his rest!" Shinigami tittered. "Don't worry; I'll get the hang of this eventually…"

**By the way, there **_**is**_** going to be another chapter of this. **It's just the epilogue, though.

**And if you were wondering what ****Shinigami**** Death did to Kid with his Sanzu lines, well, that'll be explained in the epilogue as well. Unless you wanna guess what it is, in which case I say go for it! ;D**


	7. Epilogue: Chichiue Can Do Anything

This is the end! *cries of half-sadness and half-happiness* Thanks to all my reviewers for helping me finish a story! XD And I wanna see you guys review all my future Shinigami and Kid stories, too lD By the way, do you know how much fun it is to type 'Shinigami'? I'm so happy I don't have to type 'Death' anymore! Well, I'll make the author's note short this time, since I spilled my guts out at the bottom. Enjoy!

"Liz-chan! Patty-chan! Kiddo-kun!"

The nasally, high-pitched voice and downright uncontrollable enthusiasm was unmistakable. The trio turned around, expecting to see the big, black, shadowy mass of their headmaster. Instead, they found a man in his late twenties with long black hair, three complete white stripes running through it. His golden yellow eyes seemed to sparkle in comparison to Kid's dull own. He was dressed in a long black cloak that looked like Kid's mantra, and his mask was tied to the side of his head. He flashed them a peace sign. "Yo! 'Sup?"

Kid blinked. "Chichi-ue?"

"In the flesh!" Shinigami strode up to them and threw himself over the ledge where they sat watching the sunset, taking a place next to his son. "Literally, now!" he said, chuckling.

The three stared at him.

Shinigami blinked. "What? Oh, this, heh." He scratched his head, embarrassed. "Well, I thought I could relate better with everyone if I was human like they were! Though, I'm gonna miss being ten feet taller than everyone…" He finished by slumping over, looking very depressed.

Suddenly, Kid frowned and looked away. Shinigami caught this and sat straight.

"What's wrong, Kiddo? I may not be the coolest dad…yet…but at least I'm human now? Right?" he said, grinning and planting a hand on his son's shoulder.

Kid didn't answer. Instead, he shrugged his father's hand off, got up, and walked away. Liz, Patty, and Shinigami stared after him.

"Huh. That's weird, what's gotten into him?" Liz asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe he's like an emo or something!" Patty offered, laughing.

Shinigami frowned, watching Kid go. He stared at the ground, looking very deep in thought. Suddenly he jumped up, placing his hands on his hips. "Let's go, Liz-chan, Patty-chan! We're gonna go cheer Kid up!"

-later, in death city

With the help of Shinigami's soul-sensing technique, finding Kid wasn't hard. It was getting to him that was. Since Kid had inherited Shinigami's soul-sensing ability, he would avoid them in any way he could whenever he sensed them coming. Shinigami was almost invisible to him, since his wavelength was so large that it blended into all parts of the city. Luckily, he was attuned to Liz and Patty's wavelengths, and he made sure they weren't close.

This resulted in a massive, wild goose-chase around Death City. Shinigami trailed Kid past the library, the coffee shop, the fountain, and multiple alleyways. The heat was starting to get to him, the death god thought, as he tugged at the collar of his black cloak. He was nearly panting by now and sweat rolled down his face. Wiping his face with his sleeve, he silently cursed Asura for sticking him in the middle of Nevada.

Stumbling towards the café (where Kid had bolted to), Shinigami cried out, panting, "Kid! You can run, but you can't hide!" When Kid's soul didn't move, Shinigami grinned wildly and gathered up all his strength. He burst into the café, pointing at Kid. "There you are!" he shouted. Then, he fell over.

Liz and Patty, who had entered the café, ran to his side. Liz held Shinigami's head in her lap. The god appeared to be knocked out, mouth wide open and eyes rolled back. Liz started to fan him as Patty followed suit. Luckily, they were used to Kid passing out due to asymmetry.

Kid walked over to him, looking down at his father, who appeared to be out cold. "Is he okay?" he asked, blinking in surprise.

His taller weapon glared at him. "He fainted from heat exhaustion just trying to find you!"

Kid blushed, looking guilty. "I—ah…"

Suddenly, Shinigami jerked straight up. He looked around frantically, disoriented. "What? Huh?" Catching Kid's signature black dress shoes and black pants, he looked up. "Kiddo!" he exclaimed happily, jumping up and giving his son a hug.

Kid allowed himself to be hugged, but he was looking away, confused and saddened. Shinigami stepped back and closely inspected Kid's expression.

"What's wrong, Kiddo?" he asked gently.

"…" Kid didn't answer for a minute. Finally, he gathered his nerve and looked his father straight in the eye. Shinigami stared back, not smiling (to show his seriousness) but radiating happiness nonetheless. Kid looked away, not being able to form words under his father's gaze. "That's not your real form, is it?" he asked bravely, in a clear tone.

Shinigami's expression shifted. He maintained his nonchalant appearance, but he seemed to no longer radiate his usual calming happiness. Instead, he stared at his son rather coldly, calculating. Liz caught this shift, and she was a little unnerved at Shinigami's lack of feeling. It didn't seem normal to her, since Shinigami ninety nine out of one hundred times was never this serious. But maybe this was that one other time, she mused.

"No, it's not," Shinigami answered darkly, not even bothering with his cheerful façade. "How did you find out?"

Kid, too, was caught off guard by his father's cold reply. It made him anxious and a little scared. Whenever his father went back to his Death tone of speaking, it frightened him. He would never admit it, however. "I-I…remember a little…" he mumbled nervously. "T-That night, with Asura and…"

Shinigami's hard gaze softened. It suddenly occurred to him that he may have thrown Kid off with his tone. The nervous way of speaking, avoiding his gaze…perhaps he was scared, as well? Shinigami, with all the guilt in the world, walked over to Kid and put his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Kid. Kid, look at me."

A shudder racked Kid's body before he hesitantly looked up at his father with semi-wide eyes. Shinigami swallowed, trying not to flinch at the sight.

"You know that doesn't matter to me, right?" the god asked seriously, but not coldly. Kid nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Then, what happened to that bright white guy…?"

"Light? He's gone. Hasn't been seen since. I don't know what happened to him."

They both fell silent before Kid spoke again.

"Chichi-ue…why?"

"Hmm?" Shinigami tilted his head, confused.

"Why?" Kid asked again. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you pretend all this time?"

Shinigami blinked, surprised. He looked away, taking his hands off Kid's shoulder to rub his arm uncomfortably. "I—ah, that is…"

Luckily, he was cut off by Liz. "Kid? Kid, tell us what's going on! Please?" she pleaded.

Shinigami and Kid exchanged nervous glances, then Kid spoke up. "Chichi-ue isn't my biological father," he explained, mumbling and blushing. Shinigami was scratching his head and looking to the side, very nervous.

Liz and Patty were both surprised. "Huh? Then who is?" Patty asked before Liz could stop her.

This time, Kid looked to his adoptive father, who jumped and looked away. "A-ah, his parents are really, ah, Asura and Arachne," he stuttered uneasily, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Arachne too?" Kid breathed. He started to feel dizzy. He was the son of two of the most evil people in the world. He looked at his hands. Was he evil too…?

Shinigami noticed the shift in his son's soul. He bristled, feeling a rush of protectiveness take over. This was exactly what he feared, why he refused to tell Kid his past. He treaded over to Kid and roughly grabbed him by the shoulders. His soul swelled with fury. Kid looked up without even being told, his eyes widening in shock as he did so.

Shinigami was livid. His eyes were burning with a passion that Kid had never seen before thanks to the mask. His fanged teeth were grinding together as he glowered at Kid. The latter met his fierce gaze with a nervous expression.

The god curled his lips over his teeth to form a frown, calmer than before. Kid could feel his father's immense soul wavelength slowly diminishing. Taking a hand, Shinigami pressed a finger against Kid's Sanzu lines.

"See these?" he muttered, still frowning. "Do you remember when I claimed you as my own that night?"

Kid blinked hard, trying to remember. He searched for any memory of that night. "U-um…there was…a light and then you…collapsed…"He frowned, remembering his cries for Chichi-ue to wake up.

"That night, I transferred my powers to you. I put them in your Sanzu lines. As you grow more experienced, the lines will get closer and you'll unlock more of my power."

Kid mulled this over before gasping lightly. "But that means—when they connect-!"

Shinigami smiled. "I'll die, yes."

Kid stepped back, his father's hands slipping off and returning to his sides. Kid's expression was truly panic-stricken, his golden eyes wide as sweat rolled down his face. The words sunk in like a bullet. He was going to kill his own honorable father.

"Hey, hey!" Shinigami snapped playfully, catching this shift in emotion. "This is normal for shinigami, yes? Once you're old enough to take on the responsibilities of the Grim Reaper, I have to step aside. I killed my father, if that's makes you feel any better," he reassured, trying his best to be comforting. "But, then again, my father and I weren't as close as we are," he mused quietly, making sure Kid couldn't hear him.

When Kid didn't respond, Shinigami sighed, dejected. "Kid…" he whined. "It won't happen for a while yet! Don't be so upset! Can't you smile for once?" When Kid looked up, he was greeted with the image of his father pulling the corners of his own mouth wide, showing all his jagged teeth in a wide grin. Kid couldn't help but chortle, showing a small smile.

"That's it!" Shinigami relaxed, smiling at his son softly. Kid returned the smile, looking happy. Suddenly, the death god noticed something.

"Hey, I can smile at you now!" And all the way back to the mansion, Shinigami told them about all the things he can now do in his human form. Kid could only smile and think about that little toy boat he used to play with…

;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Ta-da! The final, final end of _Painting Nightmares. _Did you all like it? I know, I know- I suck at being canon. And I suck with timelines, too. I failed my science one. XD

And now, Q&A tiem!

_dino kid:_ _ONG! Asura nad ARachne Kids real parents? I LOVE IT! I can seriously see Kid and ASura being related, what with the black and white hair and all._

but wouldnt Asura have been sealed at that time and ARachne been as those millions of spiders at that time?

**Star: Yeah, yeah, I know! I figured that out AFTER I wrote the story! *shoots self for being so stupid* But I'm glad you enjoyed it at any rate ^^**

_Ziarrah: How is the Kishin Asura free? I thought that Death/Shinigami sealed him deep under Shibusen 800 years prior to the story. And also 800 years before, Arachne spread herself amoung the world as spiders and Shibusen was created to prevent another demon like Asura._

**Star: I replied to this, but I don't have the reply. I remember a lot of self-loathing, though. *angst angst angst* but this is what s/he said in reply:**

In reply to what you said, that would also make Stein and Spirit over 800 years old. XD Last time, I also forgot to mention... where's Spirit's precious little Maka-chan? XP teehee

**Star: Again, CRAP! *holds head in hands and cries* B-but for your second question, I have an answer to that! Spirit and Stein are like 13 or 14-ish. Shibusen age, if there **_**was**_** a Shibusen at this time. (Which, yeah, I know there SHOULD be, but…whatever.)**

_Kal-orne: Okay so Kid went from not speaking to complete sentences in the blink of an eye there._

I love the fact that you made him speak out of a need to wake Death. That was sweet.

**Star: Um, sorry. It's my first time writing for a little child, and I didn't have any experience to go back on. Still, I'd like to see it as Kid was able to talk before but was too shy to. I tried to do that with Kid's sort of "thought" but guess I didn't make that quite clear. A-and, it wasn't **_**really**_** a complete sentence…I mean, I didn't mean it to look that way…**

_Kal-orne: Oops I forgot my question._

What is up with Kid and the wooden boat? Is there something about the boat that makes him like more then the other toys or is just random. Don't know why but that just keeps poping into my head.

**Star: It symbolizes Kid's bond with Shinigami. For example, their confrontation was when Kid was playing with his boat, so it was Kid's favorite toy from then on. And in chapter…uh, 5, I think, Kid never parts with the boat because it's the only thing he has to remember Shinigami by. At least, ah, that's what I was going for…**

_JoPo08: Ah, well, it has ended... kinda saddening..._

I have no questions for you, really... except maybe do you plan on writing more SE fics?

I liked this ending... there are a few things that I was "Ehhh..." mainly the fact that it all went by a bit quickly. Still I enjoyed this. Great story!

**Star: Yes, 'tis very sad. I just didn't want it to be one of those fanfics that go on forever and forever. People start losing interest; or, at least, I do. As for your question, OF COURSE! They'll probably be Shinigami and/or Kid based, though. I don't really love any of the other characters as much. In fact, I already have a few ideas I'd like to work on. I sort of lost my SE inspiration but thanks to Monotone Princess it has been reborn! And, sorry for it seeming so fast. Looking back on it, it looks really rushed. I might edit it in the future, but we'll see (I never do keep those promises). And thank you! ^^**

And that's it. That's the end. Which means, _don't story alert this story anymore._ Thanks, and I hope you all enjoyed it. :)


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